South Koreans, who had been taught for so long that North Koreans were untrustworthy enemies, reacted with surprise that Kim Jong Il seemed like a normal person, not a monster. Where once they had kept a watchful distance from one another, the two communities of overseas Koreans celebrated together for the first time. Some reacted with cynicism to the outpouring of so much joy, and frankly, I myself was only cautiously optimistic. And then let's wait and see how many of these agreements are realized. But so far it seems that I was, happily, wrong.
Reunification is no longer an abstract idea.
Civil society in South Korea has been encouraged to address not only issues of unification, but other challenges, such as the presence of US troops on the peninsula. We have to work hard to take advantage of this opportunity. The Summit and its Aftermath Analysts point to a number of factors leading to the Summit. With President Kim Dae Jung's policy of engagement, initiated soon after he took office in 1998, the South Korean government has encouraged an unprecedented level of contact and economic transaction between the two Koreas. In the North, Kim Jong Il has consolidated his power, which has grown gradually since Kim Il Sung's death.