North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and the South’s President Moon Jae-in sat down to a historic summit on April 27 after shaking hands over the Military Demarcation Line that divides their countries in a gesture laden with symbolism. / AFP PHOTO
BEIJING, China (AFP) — China on Friday heaped praise on the leaders of the two Koreas for holding a landmark summit, calling their handshake over the Military Demarcation Line that divides the peninsula a “historic moment”.
“We applaud the Korean leaders’ historic step and appreciate their political decisions and courage,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told a regular press briefing.
“We hope and look forward to them taking this opportunity to further open a new journey of long-term stability on the peninsula.”
She also cited a poem that reads: “We remain brothers after all the vicissitudes; let’s forgo our old grudges, smiling we meet again.”
China is North Korea’s sole major ally but it has supported a series of United Nations sanctions to punish Pyongyang over its nuclear and missile tests.
Beijing has pressed for dialogue to peacefully resolve the nuclear crisis.
© Agence France-Presse
