So the historic moment came. The Presidents of North and South Korea met, preparatory to US President Donald Trump’s visit to Pyongyang next week. President Kim Jong- un was the first North Korean leader to come to Seoul after a decade. South Korean President Moon Jae-in agreed to visit Pyongyang later this year. The two leaders promised to work for complete demilitarisation of the Korean peninsula. They announced that they would work with the US and China to declare the official end of the 1950-53 Korean War. A peace agreement was signed in line with the non-aggression pact between the North and the South signed in 1991. The two Koreas will fully implement all existing agreements and declarations. There will be joint participation in sports events. Humanitarian issues will be swiftly resolved. All hostile acts against each other will cease. The demilitarised zone will be transformed into a peace zone. Frequent defence ministerial meetings will be held from time to time. Disarmament will start in a phased manner. Steps will be taken to make Korea nuclear-free.
The reason North Korea leaned backwards to make peace with South Korea was that not only South Korea but also China put severe sanctions on exports from North Korea which hurt the economy of the country very badly. China also firmly opposed Kim’s decision to launch nuclear weapons and missiles. His visit to Beijing must have paved the way for an understanding with the South. The US has also been pushing for North Korea’s denuclearisation. China’s role in this matter may improve relations between Washington and Beijing. Japan is awaiting developments especially following the summit with Trump. However there is scepticism in Seoul as Pyongyang is known to similar broken promises in the past.