Is Korean peace declaration feasible this year?
- 6 years ago
The two Koreas are still technically at war... with an armistice agreement... NOT a peace treaty... signed 65 years ago.
However, there are now efforts to get over that last hurdle.
Talks related to striking what would be a historic deal... are certain to continue during the upcoming inter-Korean summit in the North Korean capital.
Choi Si-young reports.
Will the third inter-Korean summit provide the momentum to formally end the 7-decade-long Korean War?
At the first summit in April, Seoul and Pyeongyang agreed to declare it over this year.
But Pyeongyang and Washington can't seem to agree on what has to be done first for that to happen.
Pyeongyang demands that they end the war right away, but Washington insists that North Korea hand over a list of all its nuclear-related materials first.
South Korea's special envoys, who visited North Korea last week, suggested working simultaneously toward the end-of-war declaration and the nuclear list.
Kim Jong-un is known to have said he's willing to work more proactively if the two can go simultaneously but laid out no new measures for denuclearizing.
Kim also said declaring an end to the Korean War would neither weaken the S. Korea-U.S. alliance nor require the withdrawal of American troops from South Korea.
"At the moment, what Kim Jong-un has described is a trust-building gesture to assure the U.S. that the declaration won't have a negative impact on the South Korea-U.S. alliance."
South Korean President Moon Jae-in said that the declaration would only be a political affirmation that hostilities between the two Koreas are over.
"The peace declaration could bring about North Korea's denuclearization, a new phase in inter-Korean relations and a more peaceful Korean Peninsula."
The key would be whether the two Koreas can find a middle ground in their nuclear negotiations at the summit next week.
That result will be shared by Presidents Moon and Trump at their summit to be held on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly,... which could kick-start the three countries' move towards ending the Korean War later this year.
Choi Si-young, Arirang News.
However, there are now efforts to get over that last hurdle.
Talks related to striking what would be a historic deal... are certain to continue during the upcoming inter-Korean summit in the North Korean capital.
Choi Si-young reports.
Will the third inter-Korean summit provide the momentum to formally end the 7-decade-long Korean War?
At the first summit in April, Seoul and Pyeongyang agreed to declare it over this year.
But Pyeongyang and Washington can't seem to agree on what has to be done first for that to happen.
Pyeongyang demands that they end the war right away, but Washington insists that North Korea hand over a list of all its nuclear-related materials first.
South Korea's special envoys, who visited North Korea last week, suggested working simultaneously toward the end-of-war declaration and the nuclear list.
Kim Jong-un is known to have said he's willing to work more proactively if the two can go simultaneously but laid out no new measures for denuclearizing.
Kim also said declaring an end to the Korean War would neither weaken the S. Korea-U.S. alliance nor require the withdrawal of American troops from South Korea.
"At the moment, what Kim Jong-un has described is a trust-building gesture to assure the U.S. that the declaration won't have a negative impact on the South Korea-U.S. alliance."
South Korean President Moon Jae-in said that the declaration would only be a political affirmation that hostilities between the two Koreas are over.
"The peace declaration could bring about North Korea's denuclearization, a new phase in inter-Korean relations and a more peaceful Korean Peninsula."
The key would be whether the two Koreas can find a middle ground in their nuclear negotiations at the summit next week.
That result will be shared by Presidents Moon and Trump at their summit to be held on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly,... which could kick-start the three countries' move towards ending the Korean War later this year.
Choi Si-young, Arirang News.