CNN publishes an article titled `South Korea`s sunshine man: Can Moon Jae-in fix the North Korea crisis` on Jan. 10, following the previous day`s high-level talks between the two Koreas. (CNN)

By Lee Hana

The first inter-Korean talks in over two years took place at the border village of Panmunjom on Jan. 9.

The talks were extensively covered by the foreign press, with reports stating that the PyeongChang Winter Games were instrumental in bringing the two Koreas together, with speculation that moving forward, the talks would serve as a positive reinforcement. 

On Jan. 10, CNN published an article titled "South Korea`s sunshine man: Can Moon Jae-in fix the North Korea crisis?" with a spotlight on President Moon`s agenda.

Back in September 2017, CNN asked President Moon in an interview for what he wanted to be remembered. He said that he wanted to be a leader "who built a peaceful relationship between the North and South." Quoting this line from the interview, CNN wrote that, "This week, Moon made a major step in that direction, as North Korea agreed to send a team to the Winter Olympics and hold talks to ease military tensions -- the most significant thaw in relations between the two for years."

Calling this "a major achievement for Moon," CNN wrote that while his counterparts in Washington and Pyongyang "have threatened each other with nuclear destruction, [Moon] has consistently promoted dialogue and peaceful reconciliation as the way forward." 

Some media outlets reported that President Moon had stepped up his diplomatic game. 

The Washington Post published an article on Jan. 11 titled "South Korean president credits Trump with bringing North Korea to the table." The article said that, "President Moon must keep up a delicate balancing act between two unpredictable leaders: the one with the nukes in the North, and the one in Washington who lead his country`s closest ally." 

"But Moon -- newer in the office even than President Trump -- appears to be managing that feat," it noted, saying that, "This week, he has ushered in the first positive news related to North Korea in years, responding to an overture from Kim Jong-un and very diplomatically giving much of the credit to Trump."

The Beijing News publishes an article on Jan. 10 titled `Inter-Korean talks exceed expectations,` with an analysis of how the talks will be a positive reinforcement in solving the nuclear weapons issue. (Beijing News)

In China and Japan, in-depth reports on the outcome of the inter-Korean talks soon filled the newsstands. 

The Beijing News published an article on Jan. 10 titled "Inter-Korean talks exceed expectations," which stated that, "While the high-level talks were held without warning, the level of formality and the breadth of the issues discussed exceeded all expectations." 

The publication said that the Jan. 9 inter-Korean talks were a symbol of a diplomatic thaw between the two Koreas, and speculated that, "The talks would serve as a positive reinforcement in solving the nuclear weapons issue on the Korean Peninsula." Moreover, it said that, "Korea will be able to use the PyeongChang Winter Games as leverage for North Korean denuclearization."

In Japan, the Tokyo Shimbun published an article on Jan. 10 titled "Inter-Korean talks persevere, one step at a time." It said that, "North Korea officially announced that it would participate in the PyeongChang Winter Games following the inter-Korean talks, the first held in over two years. This is a welcome step, and the hope is that through unrelenting negotiations, we will be able to convince North Korea to take actions that reduce tension." 

Meanwhile, the Mainichi published an article on Jan. 10 titled "Inter-Korean talks: a conversation with Professors Hiraiwa Syunzi of Nanzan Univ. and Soeya Yoshihide of Keio University." The publication was wary of taking an optimistic outlook on the inter-Korean talks, saying that, "The whereabouts of the dialogue between the two Koreas, which started this week with high-level talks, still remains in the realm of the unknown."

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