Many African leaders are heaving a sigh of relief. The spirit of reconciliation usually hovers over the affairs of men, and indeed, of nations too. It is in this spirit, perhaps, that the US President, Donald Trump, agreed to meet with Kim Jong-Un of North Korea. The news of such a historic development is certain to tone down the huge tension in the nuclear standoff between the two countries.
Africa does not have weapons of mass destruction. But, it is certain to be one of the worst hit continents in the event of a nuclear conflagration. The news came in unusual circumstances. It was carried to the White House by a supposed adversary of North Korea – the National Security Advisor of South Korea, Chung Eui-yong. He announced that the first-ever meeting between a US president and a North Korean leader, would take place in two months, by the end of May.
Surprisingly, Chung had traveled to the North Korean capital, Pyongyang, where he met President Kim who, he said, “expressed his eagerness to meet President Trump as soon as possible.” In turn, President Trump talked about the progress made in getting Pyongyang to end its nuclear weapons program.
Chung released a tweet message, “Meeting being planned! Kim Jong-Un talked about denuclearization with the South Korean representatives, not just a freeze. Also, no missile testing by North Korea during this period of time. Great progress being made but sanctions will remain until an agreement is reached.”
News of the impending summit, which South Korean President, Moon Jae-in, said was “like a miracle”, is the latest step in efforts towards detente. It will be recalled that North and South Korea have exchanged envoys as the North sent a delegation to the South’s Winter Olympics, which Seoul had dubbed the “Peace Games”.
Detente is coming in the Korean peninsula after a period of extreme tension between Washington and Pyongyang which concerned observers in Africa virtually swore would lead to nuclear war. Recently, Trump insulted Kim by referring to him as “little rocket man”. Kim replied in kind by describing Trump as a “dotard”, whatever that means.
There has been no love lost between the US and North Korea. They fought on opposite sides of the Korean War in the 1950s. This explains why their nuclear stand-off became worrisome to many political watchers. The 30,000 US military personnel stationed over the border in South Korea will heave a sigh of relief if the impending summit provides the way to peace and reconciliation. They will turn their guns into ploughs.
