The Recent Diplomatic Romance Between North And South Korea: A Chance At Peace

The diplomatic romance that the world has witnessed in the Korean peninsular over the last few months reached all new height on Friday April 27, 2018 when the leaders of North and South Korea met for the first time. This historic meeting which took place on the southern side of the demilitarized zone saw the North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un crossed into the South Korean side of the border, making him the first North Korean leader to do so since 1950.

This all important face to face meeting between Kim Jong-Un and his South Korean counterpart Moon Jae-in was part of the first inter-Korean summit in more than a decade. The two leaders discussed the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula which has been an issue of international concern and a deal to permanently end the Korean war.

There is no doubt that the meeting has set the tone for the highly anticipated meeting between Kim Jong-Un and President Trump of the United States. This thus becomes the most significant step yet towards the realization of peace in the Korean peninsula and there is the need to sustain this efforts.

Whilst this development is a welcoming one, it is however important to remember that this is not the first time leaders of both the North and South Korea are attempting to bury the hatched and moved on peacefully as brothers. Indeed North Korea signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in 1985 and in 1992 North and South Korea sign a “joint declaration of the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula. However these and many other agreements failed to yield the desired results due to several diplomatic dishonesties. Therefore the factors that led to the failure of previous agreements must serve as a guide to any negotiation and agreements that will be reached.

The United States and China certainly has the most significant role to play in ensuring the success of the current diplomatic efforts. China must ensure that its ally, North Korea abide by agreements that will come out from these efforts. The US also has the moral obligation to ensure that it delivers on its part of the bargain whilst also ensuring that its ally, the South Korea also do same.

Though this historic diplomatic move is yet to have a real impact on the policy direction of all the Koreas, it presents the world with a fine opportunity to find a lasting solution to one of the most credible threats to world peace. The two countries must be supported by the international community especially the United Nations to consolidate this historic gain and ensure that this diplomatic efforts is sustained. The world must capitalize on the current diplomatic romance and ensure the complete denuclearization of the Korean peninsula because a nuclear threat in the peninsula is a threat to the entire globe.

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