Can Kim Jong-un and Moon Jae-in Bring Peace To The Korean Peninsula?

But will the Korean summit end the hostilities once and for all? Only time and the North Korean leader can tell.

- Ajish P. Joy/Seoul

One of the most enduring images of North Korea was captured not from earth, but from outer space. Four years ago, when the International Space Station passed over East Asia at night, it took a series of pictures of the region. From outer space, North Korea looked like a giant mass of darkness next to the blindingly bright lights of South Korea. The two countries, despite being estranged only for about seven decades, are so different from each other today. The South is a vibrant democracy, the North an absolute dictatorship; the South is among the richest countries in the world, the North among the poorest; citizens of the North rarely travel abroad, while a South Korean passport assures visa-free entry to more than 170 countries.

Yet, on April 27, all those differences appeared to have vanished, at least momentarily. In a gesture of friendship and reconciliation, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un drove to the South and met South Korean President Moon Jae-in at the peace village of Panmunjeom in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) between the two Koreas. It was the third inter-Korean summit, the first two having taken place in 2000 and 2007.