GOYANG, Gyeonggi Province -- Foreign journalists covering the historic inter-Korean summit shared the sense of cautious optimism on Friday, but some called for toning down expectations, saying that a one-off event might not be enough to produce a breakthrough from a decadeslong stalemate.
As of 12:00 p.m. on Friday, a total of 3,051 journalists and media staff had signed up with the press center that the Seoul government set up for the summit in Goyang, north of Seoul. Of them, some 900 came from 36 countries and 196 companies to join the press group.
The press center in the Korean International Exhibition Center is nearly equivalent to a football stadium in size, at about 10,000 square meters, and has over 1,000 seats in the main briefing room.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un began their meeting at the truce village of Panmunjom early Friday with a warm handshake.
(Yonhap)
The live broadcasting footage showed Kim crossing the Military Demarcation Line that separates the two countries into the southern side for the summit. In a surprise move, Kim invited Moon to cross into the northern side, and the two briefly did so before crossing south again together.
The seemingly impromptu action caused many reporters to breathe out a sigh of surprise and exclamation.
"The thing that really struck me the most was the reaction of Korean reporters when Mr. Kim and Mr. Moon shook hands for the first time. You could feel the difference in the atmosphere from the left side and right side," said Martin Dimitrov of Capital Weekly, a Bulgarian newspaper.
"The side of the foreign press is looking at how people from the Korean press ... that was an amazing feeling," he noted.
Ibrahim Ahmaid of the Russian state-run TV channel RT said that he was so excited and impressed about the historic moment that he almost shed tears.
"Although I am a foreigner, honestly, I felt very happy to see (Moon and Kim) meet and see them shake hands and also smile," he said.
"I was surprised to see the reaction of actually the North Korean leader when he invited President Moon Jae-in to go up to the North Korean side and that was a very surprising moment. I almost shed tears when I saw that exact moment to be honest," he added.
The summit is expected to focus on denuclearization, the establishment of lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula and the advancement of inter-Korean ties.
Many reporters shared a sense of "hope" and "cautious optimism," but it didn't come without concern about what could happen if things go awry.
"We came to South Korea about a week ago with half hope and half concern," a reporter of a Chinese TV broadcaster said on condition of anonymity. "We still have expectations about positive results."
He, however, voiced concerns about what would happen if things do not turn out the way many have hoped, saying that this might be the last chance at tackling many pending issues confronting the two Koreas.
"My concern is that this might be the last opportunity to deal with the North's nuclear issue once and for all, among other things," he said.
Some suggested that a breakthrough might not be achieved through such a one-off event, apparently toning down high expectations.
They also said that it would be sufficient if the summit sets a positive tone for the summit the North and the US are currently preparing to hold either in May or early June.
"It is hectic and excited, which is the sense that many reporters, including myself and those from the US and other western countries share," a reporter from Bloomberg, a US news agency, said on condition of anonymity.
"One consensus is that the North-South Korea summit would serve as a precursor to the North-US summit likely to happen later on."(Yonhap)