HOUSTON – Korean-Americans in Houston say they are excited and hopeful after the historic meeting between the leaders of North and South Korea on Friday.
When North Korean Leader Kim Jong-un stepped over the border in the heavily fortified Demilitarized Zone between the two countries, it marked the first time a North Korean leader has set foot in South Korea since the 1950-53 Korean War.
South Korean President Moon Jae-In also briefly stepped into North Korea before the two sides began talks.
Those discussions led to an agreement between the two nations, which included an official end the Korean war by the end of the year, resuming reunions of families separated by that conflict, and turning the DMZ into a “genuine peace zone.”
South Korean President Moon will visit North Korea for a second summit in the fall.
“We are very cautiously optimistic,” said Houston attorney Yong An, who grew up in South Korea and recalled weekly air raids and the constant threat of war. “This has been going on for 70 years and now actually having a peace? Unbelievable.”
David Shin, Chairman of Houston’s Korean Community Center, said local Korean-Americans, as well as their family members overseas, were excited after Friday’s agreement.
“When East and West Germany reunited many years ago, the Koreans were always hoping that would be us,” said Shin. “Hopefully, this is a first step toward that process.”
Shin says he and others hope Kim will keep his word.
“He should look at China where there’s no leadership change, but there’s economic change,” said Shin.
Richard Stoll, a political science professor at Rice University, calls Friday’s agreement a “positive sign”.
“What actually comes out of this, that’s a more difficult question to answer,” said Stoll.
Stoll says he’s skeptical North Korea would give up their nuclear weapons because of how important they’ve been to Kim so far.
“Even if they said, ‘We will give them up’, unless something is done about the 20 plus facilities they have that are part of their nuclear complex, they can always build more in the future,” said Stoll.
Shin says President Donald Trump’s planned meeting with Kim about denuclearization in the coming weeks is “very important”, and he believes repeated talks could help soften rhetoric.
Stoll says it’s crucial for President Trump to coordinate with regional allies and maintains that any U.S. President should eventually turn over the negotiation to people with technical knowledge on the subject.