Korean thaw

Korean thaw

Context

The stage is set for a truly historic meeting between Kim Jong-un and Donald Trump

What has happened?

The summit between the leaders of the two Koreas is perhaps the most significant step in decades towards securing peace on the peninsula. Kim Jong-un on Friday became the first North Korean leader since the 1953 armistice to step on South Korean soil

End of Hostilities

• Both North and South Korea desire for peace in a “nuclear-free” peninsula
• They declared that there would be no more war on the peninsula
• There are plans to transform the existing armistice into a peace treaty with the help of the U.S. and China, to formally end the Korean war by year-end

Earlier

• The 2007 joint declaration after an inter-Korean summit had expressed almost similar goals as in the latest declaration, including on the nuclear issue
• Yet relations deteriorated, with the international peace process failing to make any progress and the North going back to its nuclear weapons programme.

The Difference now

• This time the inter-Korean summit is to be followed by a meeting between Mr. Kim and Mr. Trump
• North Korean leader announced a freeze on further nuclear tests and said North Korea’s main test site would be shut down, all aimed to show his seriousness of purpose.

North Korean agenda

Despite his promises, Mr. Kim is unlikely to give up his nuclear weapons unless he gets credible guarantees from the U.S., China and other countries

He is likely to also press the U.S. to withdraw its nuclear umbrella from the South