By Jane Han
As North Korean leader Kim Jong-un made an unprecedented walk south of the heavily armed border Friday morning for the first summit with his counterpart Moon Jae-in, Koreans across the U.S. keenly watched the live footage late into the night with hopes for a breakthrough in peace talks.
''My heart is too full for words,'' says Clara Chung, 34, a doctoral student in Boston. ''Seeing the two leaders shake hands made me wonder how powerful the reunification of the two Koreas would be. It really is time for peace on the peninsula.''
The historic one-day summit will discuss three major topics ― North Korea's denuclearization, a peace treaty and the improvement of inter-Korean relations ― at the Peace House on the southern side of Panmunjom, a border village dividing the two Koreas.
''I couldn't make it home in time to watch the first encounter between Moon and Kim, so I turned on live coverage on my phone during my commute,'' said Julie Kim, a lawyer in San Francisco. ''I realized that tears were rolling down my face while I was driving.
''I'm physically so far from my home country, but I am equally desperate to see peace between the North and South."
Many Koreans in the U.S. express high hopes for a breakthrough in Friday's talks as they see a possibility for a permanent peace settlement that would replace the current armistice agreement.
''A reunification isn't something that can happen after one meeting, but the two sides could make peaceful progress in stages like Germany," '' said Michael Chang, a freelance journalist based in Los Angeles. "Any kind of positive progress would be a blessing.
Hwang Ga-young, a housewife in Seattle, expressed the same hope for a peace treaty.
''With a peace agreement, we'll have to worry less about a war breaking out,'' she said. ''The possibility and fear of war is always in the back of my mind because my parents and relatives are in Korea.''
Popular online communities shared by Korean residents in the U.S. were busy with hundreds of postings discussing the summit as the two leaders began their meeting.
One user wrote, ''My only hope is for my elderly mother to be able to visit her hometown Hamhung even just once before she passes away. I'm grateful that there is even a small glimpse of hope in the horizon.''
As North Korean leader Kim Jong-un made an unprecedented walk south of the heavily armed border Friday morning for the first summit with his counterpart Moon Jae-in, Koreans across the U.S. keenly watched the live footage late into the night with hopes for a breakthrough in peace talks.
''My heart is too full for words,'' says Clara Chung, 34, a doctoral student in Boston. ''Seeing the two leaders shake hands made me wonder how powerful the reunification of the two Koreas would be. It really is time for peace on the peninsula.''
The historic one-day summit will discuss three major topics ― North Korea's denuclearization, a peace treaty and the improvement of inter-Korean relations ― at the Peace House on the southern side of Panmunjom, a border village dividing the two Koreas.
''I couldn't make it home in time to watch the first encounter between Moon and Kim, so I turned on live coverage on my phone during my commute,'' said Julie Kim, a lawyer in San Francisco. ''I realized that tears were rolling down my face while I was driving.
''I'm physically so far from my home country, but I am equally desperate to see peace between the North and South."
Many Koreans in the U.S. express high hopes for a breakthrough in Friday's talks as they see a possibility for a permanent peace settlement that would replace the current armistice agreement.
''A reunification isn't something that can happen after one meeting, but the two sides could make peaceful progress in stages like Germany," '' said Michael Chang, a freelance journalist based in Los Angeles. "Any kind of positive progress would be a blessing.
Hwang Ga-young, a housewife in Seattle, expressed the same hope for a peace treaty.
''With a peace agreement, we'll have to worry less about a war breaking out,'' she said. ''The possibility and fear of war is always in the back of my mind because my parents and relatives are in Korea.''
Popular online communities shared by Korean residents in the U.S. were busy with hundreds of postings discussing the summit as the two leaders began their meeting.
One user wrote, ''My only hope is for my elderly mother to be able to visit her hometown Hamhung even just once before she passes away. I'm grateful that there is even a small glimpse of hope in the horizon.''
