By Sohn JiAe

Major media outlets from around the world have been eyeing the agreement to hold a third inter-Korean summit that was struck by the two Koreas, and Pyongyang’s commitment to denuclearization, seeing the moves as “major progress” and “a significant diplomatic accomplishment.”

On March 6, the New York Times said in an article titled “North Korea signals willingness to denuclearize, South says” that, “It would be the first time North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un has indicated that his government is willing to discuss relinquishing nuclear weapons in return for security guarantees from the United States.”

The article expressed worries over the fact that there's no indication in the agreement that North Korea would start dismantling its nuclear weapons or missile program anytime soon, but added in a hopeful tone that, “The reported agreements represented major progress in President Moon Jae-in’s efforts to improve relations with North Korea.”



CNN said on March 7 that, “It’s a startling statement from a nation that only months ago declared it could wipe the U.S. off the face of the earth. The announcement represents a significant diplomatic accomplishment for President Moon, who used the PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games to engineer a thaw in relations with the North that had previously seemed a distant prospect following a string of North Korean weapons tests and rhetoric from President Trump the North Korean leader.”

News coverage in the U.K., too, remained hopeful for the new approach that the two Koreas are taking.

The BBC said that, “The period of calm initiated by the Winter Olympics looks set to continue. The two Koreas appear willing to create diplomatic space to try to improve relations across the board."

The Financial Times, meantime, said that, “The diplomatic overture would mark a sea change for a region that appeared on the brink of war just five months ago after Pyongyang resumed nuclear and missile testing that prompted the Trump administration to warn of a massive military response.”



The inter-Korean agreements made headlines across China’s major TV networks.

The Global Times reported in a March 6 article titled “New progress made in South and North Korean ties is welcome and the U.N. should support this move,” that the third inter-Korean summit would be a great step forward in issues concerning the Korean Peninsula.

“The Moon Jae-in administration is showing off its diplomatic independence, breaking away from the U.S.’ diplomatic line toward North Korea,” it said.

The state-run CCTV network said that a North Korean nuclear crisis is not something that could be easily solved with a one-time effort, and that both sides must make efforts to achieve denuclearization on the peninsula. “The two Koreas must maintain this current friendly dialogue momentum,” it said.

Japanese media sounded a bit skeptical, though.

The Sankei Shimbun newspaper reported on March 7 that, “The Kim Jong-un regime has pursued ceaseless provocations with nuclear weapons, turning a blind eye to international sanctions. We need to judge the North’s intension more carefully and cool-headedly.”

According to the Mainichi Shimbun newspaper, “Concrete action is required to verify Pyongyang’s intent to denuclearize. International pressure should also be placed on the North so as to make the North put its words into action in reality.”

European media in France, Germany and Russia generated a series of articles about the latest news.

Among the articles, there were comments like, “A South Korean presidential delegation’s visit to North Korea, a first since 2007, can be called a new phrase in a ‘striking thaw’ in the long-strained inter-Korean relationship that started at the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games," in France’s Le Figaro. “President Moon’s sticking to the ‘change through approach’ policies, which he modeled from Germany’s unification experiences, has made it possible to rapidly improve the inter-Korean ties," said Germany’s Deutsche Welle.

Russia’s Nezavisimaya Gazeta said that, “The U.S. government is highly skeptical about Seoul’s efforts, but this outcome has given hope that the dialogue with Pyongyang will now be switching to a focus on denuclearization.”

jiae5853@korea.kr