Yoon Suk-youl's campaign team | Yoon Suk-youl shakes hands with a cardboard cutout of former President Kim Dae-jung at the Kim Dae-jung Memorial Hall on Nov. 11, 2021
In late November, while walking past one of Honolulu’s many Korean-owned shopping marts, I noticed a sign that showed Moon Jae-in embracing Kim Jong Un, an image unmistakably from their second summit in 2018. But rather than celebrating this bygone, briefly amiable moment in inter-Korean relations, the sign’s message contained a warning against the “peace” agreement that is Moon’s fondest wish before he leaves office in May 2022.
Two middle-aged women approached, and one holding a clipboard proceeded to explain the state of play on the Korean Peninsula. “Will you sign our petition saying no to the end-of-war declaration?” she asked.
In late November, while walking past one of Honolulu’s many Korean-owned shopping marts, I noticed a sign that showed Moon Jae-in embracing Kim Jong Un, an image unmistakably from their second summit in 2018. But rather than celebrating this bygone, briefly amiable moment in inter-Korean relations, the sign’s message contained a warning against the “peace” agreement that is Moon’s fondest wish before he leaves office in May 2022.
Two middle-aged women approached, and one holding a clipboard proceeded to explain the state of play on the Korean Peninsula. “Will you sign our petition saying no to the end-of-war declaration?” she asked.
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Rob York is director for regional affairs at the Pacific Forum. He previously worked as a production editor for The South China Morning Post and chief editor of NK News. He is also a Ph.D. candidate in Korean history at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.