By Hahm Hee-eun

Journalists from around the world showed extreme interest in the Singapore summit and reported it as the “first historic summit between North Korea and the U.S.,” “an unprecedented encounter,” and, “the long-awaited talk that overcame many challenges.”

Major media outlets from the U.S. had positive assessments of the summit, regarding the direct meeting between the two leaders to resolve the North Korean nuclear crisis, the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, and the grand framework of consensus. The Wall Street Journal said, “The specificity of the agreement was insufficient, but the summit is still significant in terms of preventing a hostile situation between the United States and North Korea.”

In the U.K., the Financial Times said that, “Kim promises ‘complete denuclearization’ of North Korea, and the U.S. commits to providing ‘security guarantees’ to Pyeongyang.”

Neighboring countries, such as China and Japan, also broadcast the Singapore summit as headline news and raised anticipation for peace on the Korean peninsula. Chinese Central Television (CCTV) sent reporters to Singapore and had a live broadcast. Wang Yi, the Chinese foreign minister, highly praised the summit and said on June 12 that, "The fact that the two top leaders of the nations sat together and shared an equal conversation already made new history today. China will, of course, give its welcome and support. This is a goal to which China has been looking forward."

Japan’s NHK also had live broadcasts of the summit and aired a press conference by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe regarding the summit. The Mainichi Shimbun carried out street interviews to hear about the thoughts of the Japanese people on the summit. As for the Sankei Shimbun, it reported on the press conference by Nikai Toshiniro, secretary-general of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). He said, "To be in a situation where the two countries can have dialogue and talk directly to each other will be a great relief to all, and we should all make efforts so that such circumstances can persist for a long time to come."



Europe also had its eyes on the “talks of the century.”

Reuters said on June 12 that, “The summit was a monumental moment for both leaders,” and Germany’s Deutsche Welle had an article titled “Friendship Talks,” saying that, “President Trump and Chairman Kim had a success in making the breakthrough at the Singapore summit.”

France, in its three daily newspapers Le Figaro, Le Monde and Libération, expressed expectations for the agreement on North Korea’s denuclearization, and Spain’s leading daily newspapers, El país and Agencia EFE, have praised the summit, saying that it would become “a major change for the world.”

hehahm@korea.kr