Moon Jae-in: The man who brought Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un to the table

Moon Jae-in set his mind on South Korea’s presidency nine years ago, when his ailing role model, Nobel Peace Prize-winner Kim Dae-jung, pulled him close and urged him to keep fighting for peace with North Korea. Soon after, Kim, the first South Korean leader to visit Pyongyang, was dead.

Moon found himself among a core of acolytes determined to preserve Kim Dae-jung’s “Sunshine Policy” toward North Korea. The ex-president’s plea rang in Moon’s ears, even as the latest U.S.-led efforts to disarm the regime and end their unfinished war unraveled.

“That was the decisive moment,” Moon told a group of reporters before his May 2017 election. “He spoke those words as if they were his will.”

Twelve months into his tenure as president, Moon is on the verge of a breakthrough to outdo his famous predecessor: orchestrating an unprecedented summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. It’s an encounter so fraught with consequence that it threatens to overshadow Moon’s own historic meeting with Kim planned for Friday, the first time a supreme leader from Pyongyang will set foot across their militarized border.