Photos taken by the same photographer show President Donald Trump walked hundreds of steps farther than his predecessor Barrack Obama toward North Korea soil at the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ).
Associated Press photographer Susan Walsh on June 30 shot a photo of President Trump after he crossed the border at Panmunjom village in the DMZ and shook hands with Kim Jong Un on North Korean soil.
On March 25, 2012, Walsh also took a photo of then-President Barack Obama visiting the DMZ. The photo described the former U.S. president was looking through binoculars to see North Korea from a observation post built at the South Korea side.
Regardless the courage level demonstrated between the two U.S. presidents, the actions by President Trump indicate the U.S. relations with North Korea under his administration have been improving much more significantly than the previous one.
In fact, President Trump is just the fifth U.S. president to visit the DMZ dividing the two Koreas, but the first to set foot on North Korea.
Before President Trump, former U.S. presidents who visited the DMZ including Barack Obama seven years ago; George W. Bush on Feb. 20, 2002; Bill Clinton on July 11, 1993; and Ronald Reagan on Nov. 14, 1983.
Pres. Trump became the first U.S. president to step into North Korea as he strode by himself across the demilitarized zone and shook hands with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. https://t.co/IwiGbk2gav pic.twitter.com/UeAZ3b8IJC
— ABC News (@ABC) June 30, 2019
Reaching North Korea marks a historic milestone by a U.S. president. Even Kim hailed that moment, saying “I believe this is an expression of [President Trump’s] willingness to eliminate all the unfortunate past and open a new future.”
