2018–19 Korean peace process
The 2018–19 Korean peace process was initiated to resolve the long-running Korean conflict and denuclearize Korea. International concerns about North Korea's nuclear weapons came to a head in 2017, when they posed a direct threat to the United States. At the same time, Moon Jae-in was elected president of South Korea with the promise of returning to the Sunshine Policy, favoring good relations with North Korea.
A series of summits were held between North Korea's Kim Jong Un, South Korea's Moon, and Donald Trump of the United States. Trump became the first sitting US President to meet a North Korean leader and to enter North Korean territory. Kim became the first North Korean leader to enter South Korean territory. Moon became the first South Korean President to give a speech in North Korea. In parallel to this, a number of cultural exchanges and diplomatic ventures began. Tensions were lowered on both sides of the DMZ.
Despite these developments, the summits failed to make substantial progress towards denuclearization or a peace treaty. In October 2019, talks in Sweden began between US and North Korean negotiating teams, but broke down after one day. Subsequently, relations deteriorated, though dialogue continued.
Background
In 1945, at the end of World War II, Korea was divided. In 1950, war broke out between North and South Korea. The United States intervened to defend the South and has continued a military presence to the present day. A cease fire ended the fighting in 1953, but no official peace treaty has been signed. Frequent clashes have occurred up to recent times.At the end of the Cold War, North Korea lost its supporters in the Soviet Bloc. In December 1991 North and South Korea made an accord, the Agreement on Reconciliation, Non-Aggression, Exchange and Cooperation, pledging non-aggression and cultural and economic exchanges. They also agreed to prior notification of major military movements and established a military hotline, and to work on replacing the armistice with a "peace regime".
In 1994, concern over North Korea's nuclear program led to the Agreed Framework between the US and North Korea. In 1998, South Korean President Kim Dae-jung announced a Sunshine Policy towards North Korea. An Inter-Korean summit was held in 2000. Continuing concerns about North Korea's development of nuclear missiles led in 2003 to the six-party talks that included North Korea, South Korea, the US, Russia, China, and Japan. In 2006, however, North Korea resumed testing missiles and on October 9 conducted its first nuclear test. A second inter-Korean summit was held in 2007. By 2017, estimates of North Korea's nuclear arsenal ranged between 15 and 60 bombs, probably including hydrogen bombs. In the opinion of analysts, the Hwasong-15 missile is capable of striking anywhere in the United States. There was an increase in militaristic rhetoric on both sides.
Thaw at the Winter Games
In May 2017 Moon Jae-in was elected President of South Korea with a promise to return to the Sunshine Policy. In his New Year address for 2018, North Korean leader, Chairman of the Workers' Party of Korea Kim Jong Un proposed sending a delegation to the upcoming Winter Olympics in South Korea. The Seoul–Pyongyang hotline was reopened after almost two years. At the Winter Olympics, North and South Korea marched together in the opening ceremony and fielded a united women's ice hockey team. As well as the athletes, North Korea sent an unprecedented high-level delegation, headed by Kim Yo Jong, sister of Kim Jong Un, and President Kim Yong-nam, and including performers like the Samjiyon Orchestra. The delegation passed on an invitation to President Moon to visit North Korea. An opinion poll taken on 15 February found that 61.5% of South Koreans thought Moon should take up the invitation.The performances by the Samjiyon Orchestra at the Olympics marked the first time since 2006 that any North Korean artist performed in South Korea. The North Korean ship which carried the orchestra, Man Gyong Bong 92, was also the first North Korean ship to arrive in South Korea since 2002.
Following the Olympics, the governments of North and South Korea raised the possibility that they could host the 2021 Asian Winter Games together. On 1 April, South Korean K-pop stars performed a concert in Pyongyang titled Spring Is Coming, which was attended by Kim Jong Un and his wife. Meanwhile, propaganda broadcasts stopped on both sides. The K-pop stars were part of a 160-member South Korean art troupe which performed in North Korea in early April 2018. It also marked the first time since 2005 that any South Korean artist performed in North Korea.
April 2018 inter-Korean summit
On 27 April, a summit took place between Moon and Kim in the South Korean zone of the Joint Security Area. It was the first time since the Korean War that a North Korean leader had entered South Korean territory. The leaders met at the line that divides Korea. Kim and Moon signed the Panmunjom Declaration pledging to work towards a final peace to the Korean conflict within a year and the complete denuclearization of Korea. The agreement also called for the end of military activities in the region of the Korean border and the reunification of Korea. The leaders also agreed to work together to connect and modernise their railways.On 5 May, North Korea adjusted its time zone to match the South's. In May, South Korea began removing propaganda loudspeakers from the border area in line with the Panmunjom Declaration.
May 2018 inter-Korean summit
Moon and Kim met on May 26 to discuss Kim's upcoming summit with Trump. The summit led to further meetings between North and South Korean officials during June. On June 1, officials from both countries agreed to move forward with the military and Red Cross talks. They also agreed to reopen a jointly operated liaison office in Kaesong that the South had shut down in February 2016 after a North Korean nuclear test. The second meeting, involving the Red Cross and military, was held on June 22 at North Korea's Mount Kumgang resort, where it was agreed that family reunions would resume.2018 North Korea–United States Singapore Summit
Donald Trump met with Kim Jong Un on June 12, 2018, in Singapore, in the first summit meeting between the leaders of the United States and North Korea. They signed a joint statement, agreeing to security guarantees for North Korea, new peaceful relations, reaffirmation of the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, recovery of soldiers' remains, and follow-up negotiations between high-level officials. Immediately following the summit, Trump announced that the US would discontinue "provocative" joint military exercises with South Korea, and he wishes to bring the U.S. forces back home at some point, but he said that was not part of the Singapore agreement.Aftermath of Singapore summit
Subsequent negotiations
From July 6 to 7, Pompeo visited North Korea for the third time to continue the negotiations with General Kim Yong-chol. After the meeting, Pompeo stated that the talks had been productive and that progress had been made "on almost all of the central issues". However, the North Korean state media criticized the meeting soon after, saying the U.S. had shown a "gangster-like attitude" and calling the demands of the Trump administration "deeply regrettable". Pompeo delivered a letter from Kim to Trump, in which Kim expressed his hope for successful implementation of the US-North Korea Joint Statement and reaffirmed his will for improving the relations between the countries.Pompeo announced on August 23, 2018, that he would return to North Korea the following week for the fourth round of talks. The following day, Trump tweeted that he had asked Pompeo not to make the trip because he felt "we are not making sufficient progress with respect to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula". South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha urged continued U.S.-North Korean talks.
In August, Foreign Minister Kang said that she had "considerable" consultations over a declaration of a formal end of the Korean War with the Chinese and U.S. foreign ministers. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi expressed support for a declaration. North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho said he was "alarmed" by U.S. insistence on maintaining sanctions until North Korea denuclearizes and what he said was U.S. reluctance to declare an end to the Korean War. According to Vox, Trump had made a spoken agreement with North Korea to sign a declaration ending the Korean War, both at a White House meeting on June 1, and during the Singapore Summit. However, National Security Adviser John Bolton and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis both opposed signing the declaration before denuclearization.