North Korea summit: How Kim Jong-un pulled off canny PR coup with unscripted 'dance' across the border

Nicola Smith
Updated
In an unplanned gesture that is likely to have increased theblood pressure of Mr Moon's security detail, Kim led his counterpart across the border into North Korea - REUTERS
In an unplanned gesture that is likely to have increased theblood pressure of Mr Moon's security detail, Kim led his counterpart across the border into North Korea - REUTERS

A year ago he was an international pariah, feared by the world, and accused of pushing the Korean Peninsula to the brink of war, but Kim Jong-un now appears to be on a global charm offensive perfectly stage-managed for the cameras.

On Friday morning, as he walked towards the border with South Korea, a smiling Kim exuded warmth and an altogether more human side compared to the stern, dictatorial images normally fed through the tightly controlled North Korean state media.

Wearing his trademark black Chairman Mao suit, he at first appeared slightly nervous as he gripped President Moon Jae-in’s hand for the first time and stepped over the cracked slab of concrete marking the military demarcation line, becoming the only North Korean leader ever to do so.

But with the eyes of the world upon him, the media-savvy millennial immediately shattered the South’s meticulously scripted diplomatic pageantry with a seemingly spontaneous invitation to Mr Moon to hop back across.

“When will I be able to come to the North?” asked Mr Moon. “Maybe now is the right time,” quipped  Kim, grabbing his hand again in a prolonged clasp to guide his initially hesitant southern counterpart back over the divide.

South Koreans were enthralled as the extraordinary scene of their beaming, tactile leaders unfolded. Audible gasps, laughter and clapping broke out among Korean journalists packed into a crowded press room to watch the emotionally charged footage live.

Korea kim jong-un meets moon jae-in puff

It immediately set the tone for the cheerful and convivial interactions of the morning. But it was a canny move that also subconsciously redressed the balance of power. He was not only coming to the South, but the South was coming to him.

“Kim Jong-un has played it brilliantly so far. Saying that it was so easy to cross the MDL and pulling President Moon over. It’s as if he’s taken a course in strategic communications and signaling,” said Dr William Choong, a senior fellow at the International Institute of Strategic Studies.

Cha Du-Hyeogn, who served as secretary to former South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, described the dance across the border line as “positive”, adding: “it shows that the MDL can be crossed over by any leader.”

Korea summit | Read more

The summit is also shaping up to be something of a PR coup for Kim, softening his public image. Although both men have smiled throughout the publicly broadcasted sections of the summit, it has been Kim who has displayed the most charisma, with off-the-cuff jokes to relax the atmosphere.

As talks began he even verged on teasing the elder statesman about his lack of sleep, promising that he would no longer interrupt the South Korean president’s shuteye with early morning missile tests.

However, ahead of the summit, defectors campaigning against ongoing human rights abuses in North Korea warned the world not to be fooled by the carefully staged images coming out of the summit.  

“Kim Jong-un will never give up his nuclear weapons. To do so would be like a wolf turning into a sheep overnight,” said Kim Seong-min, who fled South in 1999.