Korean leaders seek to control optics at historic summit
SEOUL, Korea, Republic Of — Kim Jong Un will be in uncharted territory when the third-generation autocrat walks across the border and into the southern half of the Demilitarized Zone separating the rival Koreas on Friday to greet South Korean President Moon Jae-in.
Cameras wielded by one of the most aggressive media contingents on the planet will fire live images of a man used to controlling every aspect of his public persona into the homes and onto the phones of millions of people around the world — though it’s not yet clear if it will be seen instantly in North Korea.
But as Kim navigates this minefield (figuratively; he’s not passing through that part of the DMZ) at the third-ever inter-Korean summit, he may have an ally of sorts in Moon.
Despite an announcement that some bits of the summit will be shown live, and the possibility of a joint news conference, Moon seems intent on keeping the North Korean leader at ease, and an aggressive local media at bay, while engineering a summit meant to move the Koreas from what seemed like the brink of war last year to the engagement that the liberal Moon has always dreamed of.