Is Kim Jong-un showing the world his real face?
Last week’s historic inter-Korean summit put South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in the spotlight, with the talks and events held at the truce village of Panmunjeom becoming a sort of coming-out party for the leader of one of the most isolated countries in the world.
Indeed, what the 34-year-old Kim said and did during his one-day get-together with Moon in the southern part of the demarcation line surprised many who had been accustomed to North Korean practices for engaging foreign leaders.
Openness was one thing that distinguished the European-educated Kim from his grandfather and father, who had often been called “leader in seclusion” for their obsession with secrecy. Kim agreed to live broadcasts of the moment of his first handshake with Moon across the border line, the welcoming ceremony and parts of other events.
The level of the North’s openness was all the more surprising in that Kim strictly followed the traditional practice of his predecessors when he visited China recently. Both North Korea and China kept the visit quiet until Kim returned home.
Kim also was seen speaking in a straightforward manner. He said it was bad that the two Koreas had not implemented past agreements and that doing so again would disappoint many people. He also acknowledged the poor state of the transportation system in his country, which would have been unimaginable with Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il, who described the North as a socialist paradise.
Indeed, the Kim the world saw at Panmunjeom was totally different from the man it had known through the ruthless purge of top officials, including one of his closest relatives, and the threat of a nuclear strikes against its enemy.
US President Donald Trump, who previously condemned Kim as “Little Rocket Man” on a suicide mission, said after the Panmunjeom talks that Kim was “very open” and “very honourable”. He also said the US-North summit would take place in several weeks.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also said that Kim was “prepared” to “lay out a map that would help us achieve that objective”, referring to complete denuclearisation.
As if to bolster such a positive assessment of the North Korean leader, South Korean officials disclosed that, during a private conversation with Moon, Kim offered to allow experts and journalists from the South and the US to witness the shuttering of the Punggye-ri nuclear test site to ensure its transparency.
During his conversations with Moon, Kim mentioned several times his promise to abide by the Panmunjeom Declaration and other agreements made between the two Koreas, including the declarations that came out of the previous summits held in 2000 and 2007.
The Kim-Trump talks will give other clues as to the real face of a man who, until now, had been more known for his ruthless dynastic dictatorship and pursuit of dangerous weapons than for openness and rationality. We all know which way is better for North Korea and the world. To adopt Trump’s cliche, we will see.
