The world has been showing great interest in the upcoming 2018 Inter-Korean Summit. Media outlets from around the globe are covering stories related to the Korean Peninsula, visiting the Peace House summit venue in Panmunjeom, the Demilitarized Zone, and interviewing displaced people who have had to flee their original homes in the North. In line with this, Korea.net is meeting with diplomatic envoys to Seoul to learn more about their perspectives on the upcoming Inter-Korean Summit.

By Sohn JiAe and Hahm Hee-eun
Photos = Jeon Han
Video = Kim Sunjoo
Seoul | April 13, 2018



Danish Ambassador to Korea Thomas Lehmann retains cautious optimism as he welcomes the upcoming meeting between the leaders of the two Koreas, the first in 11 years. At the same time, he hopes to see the North’s sincerity for denuclearization that it has promised.

The Danish ambassador, sitting down with Korea.net on April 13 at the Danish Embassy in Yongsan-gu District, Seoul, said, “That can be tested at that level, where you have leaders sitting opposite each other, looking each other in the eye, and saying, 'Are you sincere about what you have said and what will be the next action?' That is the key question.”

“The 2018 Inter-Korean Summit will be an opportunity for South Korea and President Moon Jae-in to test that sincerity,” he emphasized.

Since 2014, he has served as Danish ambassador not only to South Korea, but also to North Korea, looking at both sides of the situation from a more balanced perspective. Since 1973, when it established diplomatic ties with the North, Denmark has had its ambassador residing in Seoul, while covering issues concerning Pyeongyang and the Korean Peninsula as a whole.

“What we’re witnessing now is history in the making. We, as members of the international community, are giving as much support as we can to ensure a successful summit,” Lehman said. He then continued to talk about his expectations for the summit, as well as the top priority that he thinks must be at the talks.



- All eyes are focused on the Inter-Korean Summit. What was the reaction of your government and your people about this resumed inter-Korean dialogue?
The reaction is positive in the sense that what we see now is improvement in relations. We see a step toward dialogue. Hopefully, that will be the very first important step in order to secure peace, denuclearization and the building of trust on the Korean Peninsula.

I also believe that the timing has been, of course, important. I think the PyeongChang Olympics have very much contributed to what has happened. A lot of credit needs to be given, really, to the South Korean government, especially, I think, to President Moon Jae-in for his diplomatic drive to get us where we are today.

- What are your expectations and prospects for the upcoming summit?
Well, what I think we're all hopeful for, of course, is that North Korea will show sincerity, that it will confirm that it's fully committed to denuclearize. What we’ve heard and what we’ve seen from North Korea are words. Words are quite good, but we also need to see concrete actions. I believe that the upcoming Inter-Korean Summit would be a very important first step. It would be the first step for North Korea to show that commitment and its sincerity.

It would also be an opportunity for South Korea and President Moon to test that sincerity. It’s a very important stepping stone to the next one, the summit between the U.S. president and the North Korean leader.

- Some people have doubt over the North’s sincerity, though.
I think we need to have our fingers crossed and hope for the best. We also need to be cautious, but at the same time optimistic. The best thing that we can hope for here is that North Korea is sincere, that we can test it on that sincerity, and that we can get a true commitment to denuclearization. Hopefully, this can then lead to what we want to achieve, which is a peaceful resolution to reduce tension here on the peninsula.

- What do you think is the top priority to bring peace and denuclearization to the peninsula?
The top priority is that we want to see complete, verifiable and irreversible dismantlement of North Korea’s nuclear weapons program. That is what the world community wants to see. Pyeongyang’s nuclear program is not only a threat to us living on the Korean Peninsula, but also a threat to neighbors across the region. It’s also very much a threat globally. These missiles can reach Europe, they can reach the U.S. and Australia. This is a global threat that we need to eliminate. The complete, irreversible and verified dismantlement of that program is the core question here.

On top of that, it's important to initiate a process where we build trust, because trust has been missing for so many decades. Hopefully, sometime soon we could also have true peace in the form of an actual peace treaty that would take over the armistice agreement we have at the moment.

- Any message of hope and success for the summit?
I hope all parties will use this historic opportunity, which it really is, to show statesmanship, to show sincerity and to show a willingness to pursue what’s in the interest of not only the people here on the Korean Peninsula, but also of the people globally, to have a peaceful resolution of issues -- nuclear issues -- on the peninsula. That will hopefully also lead to a situation where trust can be built between the two Koreas and between all of Korea's neighbors.

jiae5853@korea.kr