A day after the two Korean leaders met for a summit along their shared border, the emotional, memorable, even funny scenes from their time together are both a bitter reminder of the Koreas’ seven decades of division and an insight into the mysterious character of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
Kim crossing the border
Mr. Kim became the first North Korean leader to set foot onto the South Korean land since the 1950-53 Korean War when he stepped into the southern side of the border village of Panmunjom to meet with South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Friday.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, left, and South Korean President Moon Jae-in raise their hands after signing a joint statement at the border village of Panmunjom in the Demilitarized Zone.
The image that lingers is of Mr. Kim stepping across the ankle-high concrete slab that forms the military demarcation line at Panmunjom, and shaking hands with Mr. Moon, both leaders broadly smiling. Mr. Kim then took Mr. Moon’s hand and led him back across the borderline into the North where they posed for a ceremonial photo together before returning to the South.
Mr. Moon, whose parents were refugees from North Korea during the war, visited the North’s Diamond Mountain resort in 2004 to meet his aunt during a temporary reunion between war-separated families.
Kim short of breath
After their meeting at the borderline, both leaders moved to a small plaza to inspect a honour guard before walking together for a couple of minutes to the Peace House, venue of the summit. Despite the relative short bout of exercise, live TV footage showed that an obese Mr. Kim was panting heavily through his mouth, his shoulders heaving a bit, as he signed a guest book.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (L) and South Korean President Moon Jae-in (R) attend the tree planting ceremony during the Inter-Korean Summit on April 27, 2018 in Panmunjom, South Korea.
South Korean media quickly speculated that Mr. Kim, 34, is about 170 centimeters (5 feet 8 inches) tall and weighs 130 kg (nearly 290 pounds), and likely suffers from diabetes, high blood pressure and hyperlipidemia.
In this Oct. 4, 2007 file photo, South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun, left, holds hands with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il after exchanging a joint declaration documents in Pyongyang, North Korea. The first inter-Korean summit in more than a decade follows meetings between Kim Jong Un’s father, Kim Jong Il, with South Korean presidents in 2007 and 2000. Each produced similar sounding vows to reduce tensions, replace the current armistice that ended the fighting in the 1950-53 Korean War and expand cross-border engagement.
In 2014, Mr. Kim disappeared from the public eye for about five weeks, triggering a frenzy of speculation about his health. When he resumed his public activities, he walked with a cane. Both his father and grandfather died of heart ailments.
Kim’s security
When Mr. Kim returned to the northern side of Panmunjom in a black Mercedes limousine for lunch after a morning meeting with Mr. Moon, a dozen bodyguards, all wearing black suits and blue ties, surrounded the vehicle and jogged beside it as it made its way to the North.
The men, all tall, with hair cropped short, are likely from the North’s secret service.
When Kim Jong Un returned to the northern side of Panmunjom, a dozen bodyguards, all wearing black suits and blue ties, surrounded the vehicle and jogged beside it as it made its way to North Korea.
Later Friday, as Mr. Kim returned to the South, the car moved at a faster speed and the men kept pace, running fast as they enveloped the leader. When Mr. Kim rolled back to the North after a farewell ceremony Friday night, the bodyguards reappeared and ran alongside his car again.
A North Korean security worker was also seen spraying disinfectant on the chair and table to be used by Mr. Kim at the Peace House while another used a headphone and a black, square-shaped piece of equipment to check for explosives, according to South Korean media reports.
Kim’s sister
This file picture taken on February 9, 2018, Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Korea's Kim Jong Un, arrives for the opening ceremony of the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympic Games at Pyeongchang Stadium. North Korea's delegation to an inter-Korean summit Friday will include leader Kim Jong Un's sister,Kim Yo Jong, one of his closest advisers, Seoul said on April 26, 2018.
Kim’s younger sister, Kim Yo Jong, took a prominent role in the summit. She handed her brother a pen when he signed the guestbook, took his gloves after he shoveled dirt on a ceremonial tree and a bouquet of flowers that he’d been handed at the border. And she sat next to him, scribbling notes, during the summit.
Mr. Kim acknowledged her popularity in the South when he joked to Mr. Moon during their talks that his sister has become a “star in the South,” causing her face to turn red, according to Mr. Moon’s spokesman, Yoon Young-chan.
Silent talks
Another striking moment came when the two leaders chatted while strolling slowly to a footbridge in Panmunjom, where a rusty signboard marking the military demarcation line stands. There they sat and had about 30 minutes of private conversation. No one knows what they talked to each other about. The chirping of birds was all that could be heard, according to the live TV footage.
When they returned to the Peace House, they chatted again but their conversation was largely inaudible.
Joint announcement
The two leaders’ close body language was also on display. They held each other’s hands and raised them into the air and hugged each other after signing their names on what they called the Panmunjom Declaration, a joint statement following their summit. They also stood at a podium together outside the Peace House and jointly announced the deal in front of officials and pool reporters.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (R) and South Korean President Moon Jae-in (L) are in talks during the Inter-Korean Summit on April 27, 2018 in Panmunjom, South Korea.
The declaration has lots of accords on improving inter-Korean ties and exchange programmes but lacks any major progress in a U.S.-led international effort to end the North Korean nuclear stand-off.
Kim appeares little drunk
In this Friday, April 27, 2018, file photo, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, second from left, holds a glass with his wife Ri Sol Ju, left, South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Moon's wife Kim Jung-sook, right, during a banquet at the border village of Panmunjom in the Demilitarized Zone.
During a dinner banquet, Mr. Kim appeared a little drunk, his face red, his eyes unfocused. He didn’t wear his horn-rimmed glasses as what appeared to be champagne was placed on the table before him. His wife, Ri Sol Ju, and Mr. Moon’s wife, Kim Jung-sook, also joined the banquet.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un share a toast at the truce village of Panmunjom inside the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas, South Korea, April 27, 2018.
Mr. Kim is a big fan of French wine and once drank 10 bottles of Bordeaux in one night, media reports said, citing the family’s former sushi chef.
