i'm mariko oi in south korea. the headlines: we are just moments away from an historic summit between the two koreas — the first time a north korean leader has crossed the border since the korean war. so can the south convince kimjong—un to give up his nuclear weapons? i'm ben bland in london. also in the programme: bill cosby is found guilty of sexual assault, in a retrial of charges brought against him. but his lawyer says the fight isn't over. and president trump's first trip to the uk is confirmed, but without the pomp and circumstance of a state visit. if»; és'fifiiéé if—zigigxér-sfi ii'ifiiiii 9-2 i , : ,

first, here is the bbc‘s laura bicker, who has been to one this man farms his seaweed

on the northern limit line separating the two countries. translation: they draw lines on this ocean, and tell us not to go over them. it's like being in a prison without bars. the hazards of fishing in these waters have less to do with the weather and more to do with the political climate. even when things are good, such as now, between north and south korea, there is a bit of tension. the deadly attack this morning set homes and buildings... eight years ago, this

region bore the brunt of north korean aggression. they fired 170 shells at nearby yeonpyong island. four people were killed. the harbour may look tranquil, but military personnel outnumber civilians here. fishermen can't go out at night, and risk abduction if they drift into north korean waters. dozens have never returned, but this man is one of only a few who made it back after being dragged by a strong tide. translation: i was lucky because the very first inter—korean summit was happening in pyongyang at the time, so the north korean soldiers were worried about the image of having me here, so they told me to hurry and go back before anyone m

the fishermen fly the flag of a unified korea. they hope their plea will be heard by the leaders of both countries as they prepare to meet. we have been worried about bombs and missiles flying over us and another war starting. all that could be gone all at once. my heart would be at peace, and our lives would be at peace. for many, the dream of sharing these waters has been held for 65 years. this is their best chance at peace in decades, and they can only place their hope in those who will negotiate their future. some views from the south korean island. we can actually show you some live pictures from the loop

house, where the south korean president, moonjae—in, house, where the south korean president, moon jae—in, is house, where the south korean president, moonjae—in, is expected to leave any minute now. and after he leaves he will be crossing the bridgejust behind us he leaves he will be crossing the bridge just behind us to he leaves he will be crossing the bridgejust behind us to meet he leaves he will be crossing the bridge just behind us to meet with the north korean leader, kim jong—un. this is the first time these two leaders are meeting, though this is the third meeting between the leaders of the two careers. last one was in 2007, and the one before that was in 2000. so we're president moonjae—in to leave the blue house any minute now. kim jong—un has reportedly already left pyongyang as well. joining us live here is professor kimjung. 0pinions seem a little split, but are you hopeful these countries can come to a peace treaty? yes, i am cautiously

optimistic about the successful outcome of this summer. but the peace treaty isn't some complicated issue, and involves not only south korean policy, but also china. so i have to see what can come as a byproduct of this summit. sorry to interrupt, but we can now see the live pictures of the south korean president, moonjae—in, live pictures of the south korean president, moon jae—in, leaving live pictures of the south korean president, moonjae—in, leaving the blue house. he will be crossing the bridge behind us to meet with kim jong—un shortly. the summit will start ina jong—un shortly. the summit will start in a few hours' time. this will be the first time the north korean leader crosses the border since the korean war. of course, the two countries agreed to truce, but the two countries are still technically at war, so the question eve ryo ne technically at war, so the question everyone has been asking is whether the two leaders can come to a peace treaty to officially and the korean

war. but of course, another big topic is whether south korea can convince kim jong—un to give up topic is whether south korea can convince kimjong—un to give up his nuclear weapons, as well. let's bring back in our professor from seoul. i guess the denuclearisation is another big topic, and some seem a bit sceptical, because obviously only six months ago tensions were very, very high. in your view, what changed kim jong—un‘s mind? very, very high. in your view, what changed kimjong—un‘s mind? was it that he is now confident that north korea is seen as a nuclear state? yes, first thing for moon —— kim jong—un, who has concerns about the status of the nuclear arms race. 0n the other hand, there is the high tension posed by the international

economic sanctions. so the pressure can push kim jong—un to economic sanctions. so the pressure can push kimjong—un to have economic sanctions. so the pressure can push kim jong—un to have this kind of summit, and the summit with trump. so president moon isjust shaking hands, leaving the blue house a head of this very historic summit. in your view, house a head of this very historic summit. in yourview, who house a head of this very historic summit. in your view, who can take the credit? because president trump likes to say that it is thanks to him that tensions have somewhat the escalated since i guess the beginning of this year. escalated since i guess the beginning of this yearlj escalated since i guess the beginning of this year. i want to give wholly my credit to president moonjae—in give wholly my credit to president moon jae—in and president give wholly my credit to president moonjae—in and president trump, as well as kim jong—un. as well as that very good goal, as a broker at between very unique political leaders like mr trump as well as mr

kim. so trump has a very high level of negotiation skills, which is good to get kim jong—un to the table. at the same time, kim jong—un has some sort of pragmatism, that unlike his father and grandfather, is very conducive to this kind of summit. so we are now seeing conducive to this kind of summit. so we are now seeing the live footage of president moon going back into the car and leaving with his delegates. we will probably see him crossing that reg shortly. but it is all good and well that these two leaders are meeting, but there are a lot of unsold issues, most notably human rights issues, that some critics want president moon to raise during this summit. do you expect him to bring it up? possibly, possibly. but that's not the main focus of this summit. the main focus

of this summit has to involve the denuclearisation issue. and i think this is a very limited timeframe, offer a one—day summit. so it is better for offer a one—day summit. so it is betterfor president offer a one—day summit. so it is better for president moonjae—in to focus on just the most important issue, which is the denuclearisation of the korean peninsula. kim jong-un and the north korean state has now said that it has halted the nuclear tests, but that is not exactly giving up the nuclear weapons that they have reportedly managed to create. so what exactly are we are hoping for? are we likely to see, possibly, him giving up nuclear weapons, or is that highly unlikely? the freezing or suspension of the nuclear test saw weapons test is a good starting point. any kind of agreement has to start with that kind of suspension. and the next question is what kind of commit meant the two political leaders

could make in the summit —— amendment. and how to make that commitment credible in the long—term. and for that, in this summit, we hope to see some formal and not that big agreement about the comprehensive denuclearisation of north korea. that is our high level of expectation. but it depends on how much kim jong—un will make a concession to the south korean leader, president moonjae—in. concession to the south korean leader, president moon jae-in. just for viewers joining leader, president moon jae-in. just for viewersjoining us now, we are watching the footage of south korean president moonjae—in in the car, leaving for the summit with the north korean leader, kimjong—un. and of course, this historic summit ta kes pla ce and of course, this historic summit takes place ahead of the plant summit between president trump and kimjong—un, summit between president trump and kim jong—un, which would truly be

historic, between the two leaders. we don't know when and where it is going to happen. president trump has just come out and said it might not even happen. so what is your expectation for this us north korea summit? once again i am very cautiously optimistic about the us north korea summit. because the diverging points of this summit is not the status quo, essentially, but the possible stakes. both recognise the possible stakes. both recognise the high stakes of the success of the high stakes of the success of the north korea us summit. in a sense, they are very strategic players, and they know each other. they both a very skilful negotiators. so i think possibly, until injune,

negotiators. so i think possibly, until in june, they negotiators. so i think possibly, until injune, they will make some very concrete agreement about the denuclearisation timetable, as well as some concrete measures to guarantee that commitment. so we are still seeing the live footage of president moon driving inside the city of seoul, before coming to the summit. but what is your view in terms of the opinions among local people here? we have met some people who are very excited that summit is finally taking place, of course, there are critics who are it. based on recent public opinion surveys, a survey of south korean people, and 70% refer to have this kind of... inaudible. and this is basically the byproduct of the moderation of the moonjae—in government byproduct of the moderation of the moon jae—in government toward byproduct of the moderation of the moonjae—in government toward north korea. they do not try to set, for

example, the north—south economic cooperation issue on top of the agenda. instead they tried to make a co—ordination with the united states, in terms of how to make denuclearisation possible. and that kind of priority gives them confidence for the majority of the south korean people. so there are a lwa ys south korean people. so there are always some extreme views on this kind of north and south korean interaction. but in this time, this is very promising, and the foundation of the moonjae—in government towards north korea is very strong. we are still watching the live footage of president moon leaving the south korean city of seoul to meet with the north korean leader. you mentioned economic

cooperation. some analysts would argue that it is because of sanctions, and of course, china plays a huge role in this, because north korea exports a lot to china. because of sanctions, exports from north korea practically fell off the cliff, and the economy is in a really dire situation. that kim jong—un has no other options but to come back to the negotiating table. basically, north korea is a closed economy which is not responsive to the incentives. china is more cooperative in making co—ordination. and probably the leadership of north korea now realise that not this time

but within six months or a year, the severity of the economic sanctions will be felt for them and before that kind of security is realised, they try to make up the negotiations, in order to get the better and maximum security. for viewers who are justjoining us that this special edition of newsday, live footage of president moon jae—in of south korea to leave with the north korean leader, kim jong—un. some would say that president trump's tweets that attacked the north korean leader as well as china for the lack of cooperation in the past, you talked about how they have been working with the international community this time, but in the past, some of the sanctions didn't get executed. what's changed ?

the sanctions didn't get executed. what's changed? do you think president trump can take credit for those tweets which may have changed attitudes? i want to give some credit to president trump in that he isa credit to president trump in that he is a very able negotiator. by increasing the uncertainty towards north korea, which makes a high level of unpredictability for the united states government action to north korea. this supports the rationality and i think president trump does well to recognise the meaning. in defence, his strategic movement in the bargaining with north korea has been very successful. in a sense, that is one

very big factor which pulled north korea into the summit table. do you think president trump and the white house is ready? we havejohn bolton recently, mike pompeo, appointed head of this foreign issues, he has just met with kim jong—un. head of this foreign issues, he has just met with kim jong-un. are they ready? it could be bad news for the south korean people because the people at the front of the trump administration are hawkish people. at the same time, it is possibly good news because now the president is very well co—ordinated. john bolton and mike pompeo are very well—known and very good at

delivering diplomatic action from president trump ‘s i think that's an important action. that is a good change. we are watching president moonjae—in with his delegation to meet with the north korean leader. this is the third summit between the two leaders, the first time these two leaders, the first time these two men will be meeting and of course, kim jong—un will become the first north korean leader to cross the border since the korean war. you have been covering this topic for quite some time. are you surprised this has happened so quickly. mike pompeo meeting kim jong—un was announced on twitter. most of the

ordinary people, they were surprised by the pace and temper of this progress towards hopefully a peaceful settlement in the korean peninsular and at the same time, there are some sudden changes, not only in united states but also south korea and north korea sir as i said, those kind of changes are not imposed unilaterally by the great powers but by product of the very productive interaction, first between the united states and north korea and also, the very active intention in the korean relationship. we are speaking to

professor kim jung and watching the convoy of president moonjae—in to meet with the north korean leader but ahead of this summit, we have seen some but ahead of this summit, we have seen some subtle or not so subtle change in how kimjong—un is portrayed by the state media as well as his wife. do you think this is all part of their efforts to change oi’ all part of their efforts to change or softened somewhat the image of kimjong—un? or softened somewhat the image of kim jong-un? yes. in the sense that north korea tried to make them normal. comparable to some member of the international community. this is a good sign for the negotiations between north and south korea. as far as between north and south korea. as faras kimjong—un between north and south korea. as far as kim jong—un try to show some kind of normal statement towards the

international audience, that is a very positive sign and we need to utilise that kind of incentive for the increasing domain of cooperation as well as peaceful settlement. we are no longer seeing kimjong—un smoking a lot and of course also, the first lady has been given the title of the first lady, equal to the first ladies of the rest of the world. of course, that is not to say there are not issues that are unresolved and there are many people in north korea and here who have suffered because of the regime of north korea. how do they feel about the summitand north korea. how do they feel about the summit and this chance of peace? some portion of the population in

south korea, and i think most of the ordinary people in north korea, they suffered from the authoritarian nature of the regime. i have no doubt of the political consequence. this is kind of a diplomatic negotiation. we have to admit that north korea is a legitimate counterpart in the negotiating table. 0nce counterpart in the negotiating table. once we can get them into the community of the international society, we can have some lethbridge by which we can open and gradually improve the state of the human

rights or the standard of living in north korea. then we can have some better future for them. it takes some time and we have to be patient for that kind of positive change. we are watching live footage of president moonjae—in of south korea in his car. i am told he is broadly about half way from seoul to the bridge behind us where he will meet the north korean leader, kim jong—un. 0f the north korean leader, kim jong—un. of course, this summit comes ahead of the meeting between president trump and kim jong—un but some would argue that by having these meetings, it almost legitimises the north korean state, which has had a record of human rights abuses and that it recognises the north korean state as a nuclear state. is that a good thing?

the north korean state as a nuclear state. is that a good thing7m depends. in my opinion, without making some engagement with north korea and getting some concessions from the north korean side, the first thing is the issue of denuclearisation. those are some high priorities in terms of security matters. 0nce high priorities in terms of security matters. once we have some progress in this domain, then we can move to the other domain of internal politics of north korea economic cooperation or exchange. this is some kind of step—by—step approach to how to open in north korea and how to reform. we cannot do

everything in a some will turn this way. changing north korea in order to improve. we are watching live footage. the south korean president on his way to meet kim jong—un. footage. the south korean president on his way to meet kimjong—un. in your view, there have been a lot of speculations and guessing games about where and when this summit between president donald trump and kim jong—un will take place. 0bviously kim jong—un will take place. obviously the two leaders from the two countries are meeting inside the demilitarised zone which is one of the options for the summit but there are other options like mongolia, southeast asia, even some neutral countries in europe. if you had a crystal ball, what would be your guess? this is an open-ended question. i think it would be

fantastic because it can give some surprise to the international audience by giving some a concession to north korea, the united nations can get the potential from north korea so there are many things to be considered for the political leaders. the unnecessary involvement if we have the summit in seoul or

chengdu island, ithink if we have the summit in seoul or chengdu island, i think mongolia is a good choice. singapore is another good choice. but if there is a third party, a neutral place and they have some distance from that, not only from north korea but also the united states. as far as they can make an agreement about where to have the summit, that is not a big issue for me. to see president trump would be something even more historic. 0bviously these two men were involved in this twitter war of words. calling each other rocket man, dotard. donald trump is known to be rather unpredictable compare to be rather unpredictable compare to other leaders. so many things can

just go wrong. are you not worried about that? basically, i have some worry about those kind of unpredictable things but in terms of bargaining strategy, as i said, the unpredictability can be an asset. sorry professor kim jung, i have two interrupt because we are stating goodbye to viewers of bbc news america. we will continue coverage here on bbc world news but goodbye to viewers in america. we are back on bbc world news, covering the summit between north korea and south korea. this is the first time kim jong—un and moon

jae—in our meeting, the first summit between the two countries. kim jong—un will become the first north korean leader to cross the border since the korean war. sorry, professor, i just interrupted since the korean war. sorry, professor, ijust interrupted you. there are some critics who are sceptical, who are worried that this summit between the two very unpredictable men, kim jong—un and donald trump, could go wrong. what is your view? yes, thus far, as you said, the unpredictability of the political leaders can, conducive to the happening of the historic summit, both