Pyongyang's state-controlled media give extensive coverage to summit
The front page of Rodong Sinmun on April 28 features photos and stories of President Moon Jae-in meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on April 27. / Rodong Sinmun
By Yi Whan-woo
North Korea's state-controlled media outlets gave an extensive coverage of the inter-Korean summit on April 27.
The Pyongyang media are usually quiet on any improvement in cross-border relations or report them in a restricted way.
In its April 28 printed edition, the Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of the ruling Workers' Party, filled four of its six pages with news and photos of the summit between President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
The summit-related pages had 61 photos of the two leaders' historic meeting on the South Korean side of the truce village Panmunjeom.
The front page had Moon and Kim shaking hands at the Military Demarcation Line at Panmunjeom.
Other photos showed the two leaders inspecting the South Korean honor guard and being greeted by officials from both sides who accompanied them.
The paper's second page showed the two leaders planting a tree in commemoration of the summit and having a conversation at the Foot Bridge without their aides.
The full text of the joint declaration announced by Moon and Kim featured on the third page, along with a photo of Moon and Kim hugging each other after signing the summit agreement.
The two leaders agreed to push for “complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula,” which North Korea had rejected for years, and agreed on a common goal of a “nuclear-free” peninsula.
The fourth and last page had stories and photos of the post-summit banquet and the two leaders saying goodbye to each other. First lady Kim Jung-sook, Kim's wife Ri Sol-ju and high-level officials from the two sides joined the banquet.
The newspaper mentioned that the South prepared various foods for the banquet and that the North served cold noodles from Okryugwan, a famous restaurant in Pyongyang.
The Korean Central News Agency separately released the Moon-Kim statement.
“At the talks both sides had a candid and open-hearted exchange of views on the matters of mutual concern, including the issues of improving the North-South relations, ensuring peace on the Korean Peninsula and the denuclearization of the peninsula,” KCNA said.
It also reported that the post-banquet dinner was held in an “amicable atmosphere overflowing with feelings of blood relatives.”
Korean Central Television broadcast about 30 minutes of footage from the summit, including Kim shaking hands with Moon, the welcoming ceremony, the two leaders planting a tree and the banquet.