Korea has ceaselessly made efforts to relieve tensions on the Korean Peninsula and open up a new path toward peace. As a result, the inter-Korean summit that took place in 2018 for the first time in 11 years since 2007 laid the foundation for the groundbreaking improvement in inter-Korean relations and the advancement of permanent peace on the Korean Peninsula.

On April 27, 2018, Chairman of the State Affairs Commission Kim Jong Un crossed the border into South Korea for an inter-Korean summit held at the Peace House on the southern side of the border village of Panmunjeom, becoming the first North Korean leader to set foot on South Korean soil. During the historic summit, President Moon Jae-in and Chairman Kim Jong Un agreed to facilitate groundbreaking advancements in inter-Korean relations, and to establish a permanent and solid peace regime on the Korean Peninsula by signing the Panmunjeom Declaration for Peace, Prosperity and Unification of the Korean Peninsula.

The major agreements made in the Panmunjeom Declaration are as follows:

The two sides agreed to establish a permanent and peaceful Korean peninsula peace regime through complete denuclearization; to continue high-level workinglevel talks for bringing an end to the current unnatural state of armistice and establishing a firm peace regime on the Korean Peninsula in 2018; to frequently have an in-depth discussion through regular meetings and hotlines, along with the visit of President Moon Jae-in to Pyongyang in fall of 2018; to establish a joint liaison office with resident representatives of both sides in the Gaeseong area; to stop all hostile acts and further transform the DMZ into a peace zone; to hold the reunion of separated families and relatives with the upcoming August 15 as an occasion and invigorate multi-faceted cooperation, exchanges, visits and contacts of people from all levels of society; and to relink and modernize railways and roads on the eastern and western coasts.

North Korea’s additional pledges to dismantle its Punggye-ri Nuclear Test Site in public view and to change its time zone to match that of South Korea were implemented in May 2018.

The most crucial part of the Panmunjeom Declaration, which was North Korea’s strong will to denuclearize, immediately drew massive global media attention. CNN said, “The two Koreas will bring a formal end to the Korean War, ceasing 64 years of hostilities,” while CCTV commented, “South Korea and North Korea eased military tension and paved the way for complete denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula.”

On May 26, 2018, the South Korean and North Korean leaders met again at Tongilgak on the northern side of Panmunjeom. Their second summit called for cooperative efforts to implement the Panmunjeom Declaration and to successfully hold the planned North Korea-US summit. The two leaders also reaffirmed their commitment to meet at any time and in any place if the need arose.

On September 18, 2018, the third inter-Korean summit was held in Pyongyang, North Korea. The leaders of the two Koreas signed the Pyongyang Joint Declaration of September 2018 before announcing it at a joint press conference on that day. This declaration includes measures to expand the cessation of military hostilities including substantially lowering the danger of war on the Korean Peninsula, in addition to inter-Korean economic cooperation such as the connection of railways and roads along the east and west coasts.

The 2018 Inter-Korean Summit was a watershed moment for denuclearization and peace on the Korean Peninsula as well as the advancement of inter-Korean relations. Their severed ties have been reconnected, and Panmunjeom, which had been a symbol of division, has become a symbol of peace.

In addition, the successful inter-Korean summit laid the groundwork for the first North Korea-US summit held in Singapore on June 12, 2018. The back-to-back summit between the leaders of the two Koreas led to the first, historic summit between President Donald J. Trump of the United States and Chairman Kim Jong Un of North Korea held in Singapore on June 12, 2018, which became milestones toward the peaceful resolution of North Korean nuclear issues and peace on the Korean Peninsula, a goal fully shared by the international community. The second North Korea-U.S. summit was held in Hanoi, Vietnam on February 27, 2019.

President Moon Jae-in’s Policy on the Korean Peninsula

President Moon Jae-in’s policy on the Korean Peninsula was a long-term and comprehensive policy led by South Korea and North Korea to realize peace and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula, with the involvement of neighboring Northeast Asian countries together with international society. The three goals of the policy were: to uphold peace with the highest priority; to pursue a Korean Peninsula of co-prosperity based on the spirit of mutual respect; to establish sustainable inter-Korean relations; and to build a new economic order that will bring peace and prosperity to the Korean Peninsula and Northeast Asia.

With Japan’s surrender in the Pacific War in August 1945, four decades of Japanese colonial rule ended and U.S. and Soviet troops came to be stationed on the Korean Peninsula south and north of the 38th parallel, respectively. This resulted in the division of Korea into two separate countries.

On June 25, 1950, North Korea attacked the South on all fronts, igniting a three-year internecine war. The tragic war was stopped with the signing of the Korean Armistice Agreement on July 27, 1953. The peninsula has remained divided ever since, but a mood for peace has recently developed after years of tension.

Between September 1990 and October 1992, the two Koreas engaged in a total of eight bilateral meetings, including the first high-level talks held in Seoul. In December 1991, the two sides signed the Agreement on Reconciliation, Nonaggression, and Exchanges and Cooperation between the South and the North (also called the Inter-Korean Basic Agreement). The agreement focused on mutual respect between the two nations, the renunciation of armed aggression, exchange and cooperation in many sectors, and the guarantee of free exchange of people between the two countries.

From the mid-1990s onward, the South’s government continued to provide support for the North, which was continuing to experience serious economic difficulties.

In the period 1999–2007, the South supplied a total of 2.55 million tons of fertilizers to the North in an effort to help the North Korean people who were suffering from a food shortage.

Such assistance was later suspended due to North Korea’s nuclear tests and other provocations, but humanitarian aid through private organizations resumed in 2015.

The supply of fertilizer was also an effective way to help starving North Koreans, considering that the North’s food shortage is not a temporary phenomenon but is attributable to the inefficient farming system and a lack of fertilizers and pesticides.

The Inter-Korean Summits held in 2000 and 2007 provided the momentum for a dramatic invigoration of dialogue, exchange, and cooperation between the two sides. However, the South temporarily suspended the supply of food and fertilizers after the North’s continuing series of provocative actions culminated in the launch of long-range missiles and nuclear tests, but did not stop providing humanitarian support for children or emergency relief aid.

The deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system in South Korea led to some instability in the relations between neighboring powers (United States, China, Japan, and Russia). However, the Moon Jae-in administration continuously sought plans for peace. In September 2017, the Moon government deliberated and approved a plan to send humanitarian aid worth USD 8 million to North Korea at the request of an international organization under the United Nations. The South Korean government also induced North Korea to participate in the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics. Such a reconciliatory mood led to the 2018 Inter-Korean Summit, paving the way for a denuclearized Korean Peninsula.

Reunion of Dispersed Family Members

It is estimated that there are about 10 million family members separated by the Korean War. Since the 1970s, South Korea and North Korea have attempted to hold reunions for war-torn families through inter-Korean Red Cross meetings. The two Koreas held Red Cross talks intermittently, including the first meeting in Pyongyang in August 1972 followed by intermittent negotiations including the 2nd meeting in Seoul in September that year, but ended up suspending such talks in 1978 after continuing controversy.

The two sides resumed meetings in the 1980s, and, finally, reached an agreement on reciprocal visits. A group of 30 people from the North paid a visit to the South while a group of 35 people from the South paid a visit to the North for four days beginning on September 20, 1985. It was a truly significant event after 40 years of division. The two sides also allowed exchanges between groups of artists during the event.

The 2000 inter-Korean summit paved the way for reunions of separated family members in the two Koreas. Since then, a total of 20 inter-Korean family reunions had been held until 2015. A family reunion center was set up in the Mount Geumgang resort for inter-Korean reunions of dispersed families. In addition, the two sides separately held seven rounds of video reunions between 2005 and 2007.

Unfortunately, those reunions have not taken place since the last event at Geumgangsan Mountain in 2015. However, the two Koreas are now considering holding various exchanges among divided families including the resumption of the August 15 family reunions as agreed in the Panmunjeom Declaration.

Kaesong Industrial Complex

Kaesong is the third largest city in North Korea along with Pyongyang and Nampo. The city offers clear advantages to businesses from South Korea, including the geographical proximity to the South. Kaesong is just 8 km away from Panmunjeom.

The Kaesong Industrial Complex, the signature project of South Korea’s Sunshine Policy, allowed private businesses from South Korea to build factories on land leased by North Korea for 50 years for the production of goods by domestic and foreign firms. Construction began in 2000, and companies started their operations in earnest in 2005. At one point, more than 120 manufacturers from South Korea employed over 50,000 North Korean workers. The project was regarded as a good example of inter-Korean economic cooperation as the complex was operated with the capital and technology of South Korea, and the labor force of North Korea.

Afterward, North Korea’s continued nuclear tests frayed bilateral ties, leading to the withdrawal of South Korean companies in February 2016.

Concerning the Kaesong Industrial Complex, the two sides have signed four agreements. One is on the normalization of the complex, and the other three on communications/customs clearance/quarantine, access, and a stay.

Since the July 4th South–North Joint Statement, the two Koreas have made efforts to improve relations by signing different agreements including the Agreement on Reconciliation, Non-Aggression, and Exchanges and Cooperation between South and North Korea (Inter-Korean Basic Agreement); the Joint Declaration of the Denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula; the June 15 SouthNorth Joint Declaration; the Agreement on the Creation and Operation of a Joint Military Commission; and the Agreement on the Establishment and Operation of the South–North Liaison Office. As the confrontational relationship came to an end with the Panmunjeom Declaration, the two Koreas are mapping out new economic plans for the Korean Peninsula through various inter-Korean exchanges including the opening of the second Kaesong Industrial Complex.

The government of the South has made efforts for a permanent settlement of peace on the Korean Peninsula and the development of good relations with the North through dialogue, exchange, and cooperation. It has stuck to its basic stance that i.e. it will continue to strive to improve its relations with the North through dialogue and cooperation even during periods of extreme tension such as that occasioned by the North’s temporary closure of the Kaesong Industrial Complex. Generally speaking, the government of the South and the South Korean people have succeeded in maintaining a calm and stable social atmosphere. The South copes flexibly with all outbreaks of tension on the Korean Peninsula by continuing dialogue and cooperation to maintain peace with neighboring countries. As such, South Korea may be claimed to be one of the safest countries in the world.

The Moon Jae-in administration, which was inaugurated in May 2017, strove to improve inter-Korean relations, settle peace on the Korean Peninsula, and lay the groundwork for future unification by building mutual trust based on dialogue and cooperation. In particular, the Panmunjeom Declaration signed on April 27, 2018, which reaffirmed the goal of completely denuclearizing the peninsula and building a peace regime, earned the support of related countries and the international community.

The Government of South Korea, together with North Korea, will continue to accelerate the joint development of the two Koreas and to solidify the foundation of peaceful reunification.

To this end, South Korea and North Korea are discussing current issues through regular talks and a direct communication line to build trust with the ultimate aim that a unified Korea will contribute to the peace and prosperity of the region and the world.