A handshake across the world’s most heavily fortified border. A lengthy one-on-one conversation on a bridge, beyond the range of microphones. Longstanding enemies on a divided peninsula calling for peace after a year of threats.
Friday’s summit meeting between the leaders of North and South Korea was a master class in diplomatic stagecraft, with each scene arranged for its power as political theater and broadcast live. In a perilous standoff that has resisted solutions, it was these images that offered hope, much more than the actual results from the meeting — vague pledges to work toward nuclear disarmament and a peace treaty.
Friday’s summit meeting between the leaders of North and South Korea was a master class in diplomatic stagecraft, with each scene arranged for its power as political theater and broadcast live. In a perilous standoff that has resisted solutions, it was these images that offered hope, much more than the actual results from the meeting — vague pledges to work toward nuclear disarmament and a peace treaty.
