Ahead of summit with North, South Koreans hope more for peace than unification

A decoration sitting on a chair is pictured at the Peace House, the venue for the inter-Korean summit, at the truce village of Panmunjom inside the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas, South Korea, April 25, 2018. Yonhap via REUTERS

SEOUL (Reuters) - As North and South Korea gear up for their first summit in over a decade this Friday, many South Koreans have lowered their expectations since previous summits, hoping for peace rather than any swift reunification.

While often still couched in the rhetoric of eventual unification - especially by the North Koreans - this round of inter-Korean detente has seen South Korean President Moon Jae-in target peace and reconciliation as a more pragmatic goal.