TO DESCRIBE Moon Jae-in’s expression as “ashen-faced” would be an understatement. In a photograph released by his office early on May 25th, South Korea’s president (pictured, centre) looked a decade older than his 65 years. The downward turn of his lips suggested that he might be about to cry. The picture was taken at an emergency meeting Mr Moon had been forced to convene late the previous night after Donald Trump, America’s president, suddenly decided to cancel his planned summit with Kim Jong Un, North Korea’s dictator, in Singapore next month.
Mr Moon’s face captures the baffled disappointment with which the news of Mr Trump’s decision was met in South Korea. Mr Moon has made the creation of a lasting peace on the Korean peninsula a central goal of his presidency, and was instrumental in brokering the planned summit between Mr Trump and Mr Kim. But he was apparently not informed of Mr Trump’s withdrawal in advance. After hours of silence, he issued a statement saying...Continue reading
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