There's been hardly any contact across it since the end of the Korean War. This is as close as most South Koreans can get to their cousins in the North. The buildings across the river here are perhaps a mile away, but they are a world apart. While the South has prospered, the economy of the North is crumbling and can barely feed its people. There are few cars to be seen on the streets of Pyongyang, just a traffic policewoman performing without an audience.
Cynics say the North is opening up to the South out of economic desperation.
Tightly controlled North Korean Television usually heaps unadulterated abuse on South Korea. The South's Mr. Kim was afforded unusual respect. Tonight he was treated to a folk performance, heavy on tradition rather than politics. Hopes have been raised and dashed before. But the fact this summit is taking place at all is the most hopeful event in 50 years of Cold War on the Korean Peninsula.