Korean War may be declared over this year

The Korean War could be declared over this year, as a consensus appears to have been reached between South and North Korea, and the United States.

In an interview with Fox News, President Moon Jae-in, who is on a five-day visit to the U.S., said he had “ample discussions with U.S. President Donald Trump on this issue during a summit and expects plenty of discussions between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in their upcoming summit.”

“It is my desire to sign a declaration ending the Korean War as soon as possible to give a sign that hostile relations between North Korea and the U.S. are ending and there is basic sympathy regarding this view,” he said.

Moon and Trump met on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York, Monday (local time).

Moon said the denuclearization process would be accelerated if the Korean War was declared over.

“It all comes down to whether the U.S. is ready to provide corresponding measures in a swift way. The U.S. promised to end hostile relations with North Korea to provide security guarantees and work toward new U.S. North Korea relations _ these actions need to be taken in parallel,” he said.

The set of agreements reached between Moon and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at their summit last week states North Korea will permanently shut down its Yongbyon nuclear facility for a reciprocal measure from the U.S. Yongbyon is believed to be a key facility in the North’s nuclear program.

The “reciprocal measure” was not specified, but it is believed to be declaring an end to the war, which Pyongyang has continuously been calling for as a means to protect its regime.

North Korea’s Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho arrived in New York, Wednesday. It is yet to be seen when he will meet with his U.S. counterpart Mike Pompeo. After the summit between Moon and Kim last week, Pompeo invited Ri to New York for a meeting. The two are set to discuss follow-up denuclearization measures.

Differences remain on preconditions

While the relevant states may have the idea of declaring an end to the Korean War by the end of the year, the U.S. and North Korea still have differences on what would have to precede the measure.

The U.S. has been calling for Pyongyang to report its nuclear inventory and there had been expectations that the North Korean leader could make a pledge to do so at the inter-Korean summit held last week. However, Pyongyang instead offered to shut down its Tongchang-ri missile testing site in the presence of international experts.

“The U.S. wants North Korea to report its nuclear inventory and for verification to take place. North Korea has stated it would invite international experts to observe the shutdown of its Tongchang-ri site, but observation is different from verification,” Shin Beom-chul, a senior fellow at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies, said.

“The U.S. and North Korea still appear to hold different views,” he said.

“All we know is that Moon and Trump spoke about declaring an end to the war, that this will be discussed when Trump meets with Kim for the second time, and that the declaration will likely be made within the year,” Handong Global University professor Park Won-gon said.

“The key is what North Korea will offer in terms of denuclearization. North Korea needs to pledge to report its nuclear assets. Discussions will take place through various channels _ between Pompeo and Ri in New York, and between U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun and North Korea’s vice foreign minister Choe Son-hui in Vienna,” he said.

After the inter-Korean summit last week, Pompeo invited North Korea to denuclearization talks in Vienna, Austria _ where the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is based.

Source:.koreatimes.co.kr