The Peace Treaty on Korean Peninsula is a proposed settlement to formally end military hostilities on the Korean Peninsula as a follow-up to the 1953 Korean Armistice Agreement implemented by the United Nations after the Korean War. During the inter-Korean summit on April 27, 2018, Kim Jong Un and Moon Jae-in signed the Panmunjom Declaration; the declaration involved an agreement about mutual efforts and action items for transforming the armistice agreement into a peace treaty with the cooperation of the United States and China.Japantimes.co.jp - Panmunjom Declaration 26 June 2018: Full text of Panmunjom Declaration During the 2018 Trump–Kim summit, US president Donald Trump and Kim signed a Joint Statement which reaffirmed the Panmunjom Declaration.Vox - Understand the News - 12 June 2018: Breaking: Trump and Kim sign agreement pledging to work toward "a lasting and stable peace" On November 23, 2023, North Korea terminated its 2018 agreement with South Korea.

Overview US president Donald Trump and North Korean supreme leader Kim Jong Un agreed to speed up the denuclearization process on the Korean Peninsula by building a new relationship between the United States and North Korea, signing a Joint Statement on June 12, 2018. Kim asked the US to formally end the Korean War (1950–1953) to finalize the denuclearization schedule. In the past, with the advancement of North Korea's nuclear and missile program, the US had considered a military option or diplomatic negotiations with North Korea to secure its denuclearization.

There is ongoing mediation with the two Koreas, the US, and China about formally ending the Korean War. Although North and South Korea prefer declaring the end of the war first, China advocates a peace treaty which would be legally binding on all parties. The US favors a bilateral statement with North Korea in anticipation of Chinese concerns about the presence of United States Forces Korea (USFK).English.chosun.com - 31 July 2018: Behind-the-Scenes Talks Underway to End Korean War Russian president Vladimir Putin, who reconfirmed the peace treaty with Japan ending World War II, said that North Korea's nuclear issue should be resolved in "a political and diplomatic manner".japantimes.co.jp/- 27 May 2018: Abe and Putin reconfirm peace treaty, economic cooperation goals while taking united stance on denuclearizing North Korea Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs endorsed the Panmunjom Declaration.Newsweek 29 June 2018: Russia Wants a Piece of the North and South Korea Peace Action Putin suggested that Trump halt US-South Korean joint military exercises during a 2017 diplomatic gathering in Germany, and Trump agreed to suspend "war games" with South Korea during the Trump–Kim summit in 2018.qz.com/- 14 June 2018: Did Putin give Trump the idea to stop "war games" with South Korea?

Proposed conditions

According to Robert Gallucci, the 1994-Agreed Framework set a precedent for resolving North Korea's nuclear and military issues. University of Southern California Korean Studies Institute director and professor of international relations David C. Kang scrutinized previous efforts to resolve the nuclear issues, based on years of US–North Korean negotiations. The United States favors North Korean denuclearization before any security agreements, and North Korea refuses to give up its nuclear weapons before a security agreement is reached.

Robert Einhorn, a former special advisor for nonproliferation and arms control at the United States Department of State, suggested an alternative approach to Washington. Einhorn interpreted the solution of DPRK's denuclearisation which is favored by North Korea. In his view, some corresponding reward should be given to Pyongyang matching each of Pyongyang's denuclearization steps until full dismantlement of the DPRK nuclear program. In summary it's a step-by step, incremental, phased approach toward North Korea.

On December 11, during a U.N. Security Council meeting, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Kelly Craft announced that the U.S. was ready "to simultaneously take concrete steps" with a flexible approach, for a 'balanced agreement" of the nuclear deal with DPRK.nytimes: U.S. Tells U.N. It Is Ready to Be Flexible in North Korea Talks, Warns Against Provocations https://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2019/12/12/world/europe/12reuters-northkorea-usa-un.html

History The United States has attempted to secure the denuclearization of North Korea because of North Korea's nuclear testing and the development of ICBM technology capable of reaching the United States. Before World War II, Korea was united for over a thousand years and known as Goryeo and Joseon. After colonisation by Japan from 1910 to 1945, Korea was divided into two countries along the 38th parallel (now the Korean Demilitarized Zone). North Korea was administered by the Soviet Union in the years immediately after the war, and South Korea was administered by the United States. North Korea invaded South Korea in 1950, beginning the Korean War. The war ended in a 1953 stalemate.

After the war, despite South Korean president Syngman Rhee's disagreement with the United States' pursuit of a ceasefire with China and the separation of North and South Korea under US-led United Nations intervention, the two Koreas were divided on July 27, 1953. After the 1954 Geneva Conference, Rhee hoped for reunification under the United Nations before his resignation in 1960."Biographies: Syngman Rhee" . The Department of Defense 60th Anniversary of Korean War Commemoration Committee. Retrieved on September 28, 2017.

On May 16, 1961, Park Chung-hee seized power in a South Korean military coup. During the decade, Korean reunification was advocated to revive the economies of both countries. During the 1970s, with the success of détente and Korean economic development, the countries resumed negotiations. The July 4th North–South Korea Joint Statement was drawn up, but not implemented. South Korea was governed by the Yushin Constitution, and the impetus for reunification on the peninsula ended.

On August 5, 2017, General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party Xi Jinping called for Donald Trump to resolve the North Korean nuclear issue through a peaceful resolution based on mutual respect between the nations in the face of heightened military tensions. At the 2017 G20 summit the previous month, Xi reaffirmed discussion of the peninsula's peace settlement.

On September 3, 2017, North Korea tested a thermonuclear weapon. The bomb was later estimated at 250 kilotons, based on a further study of seismic data. Relations between North and South Korea have improved somewhat since then, beginning with North Korea's participation in the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea.

Reactions

United States

About the dismantling of a North Korean nuclear site, South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha said in October 2018 that she would like US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to agree to a declaration ending the Korean War as part of security guarantees to increase North Korean confidence in a denuclearization agreement. Although Pompeo said that he was pleased to negotiate with Kim Jong Un about dismantling nuclear facilities at the Yongbyon Nuclear Scientific Research Center, he hesitated to express an opinion on the possibility of an "end-of-Korean war declaration".Scmp - 5 October 2018: "An end to the Korean war in return for Pyongyang’s denuclearisation? That’s the suggestion from Seoul"| scmp.comwashingtonexaminer.com - 3 October 2018: "South Korea pushes Pompeo to accept Kim's demand on status of Korean War"| washingtonexaminer.comaljazeera - 12 Oct 2018: "Moon Jae-in urges US to declare end of war with North Korea | cnn.com"

According to a Washington Post analysis, sufficient momentum exists for a declaration ending the Korean War as a useful tool for the Trump administration to speed up North Korea's denuclearization. The declaration would be a symbolic diplomatic measure, requiring fewer judicial obstacles than a peace treaty. Another factor making a declaration more timely is the warming relationship between the two Koreas as a result of several inter-Korean summits. CNN reported that the Trump administration is willing to end the Korean War to denuclearize North Korea.washingtonpost.com - 20 September 2018: "The end of the Korean War? A new push to finish an old conflict"| washingtonpost.comcnn.com - 2 Oct 2018: "After 65 years of 'armistice,' it's about time to end the Korean War"| cnn.comBBC.com - 12 Oct 2018: "South Korea's Moon optimistic about end to Korean War"|cnn.com

South Korea The White House was petitioned about a peace treaty on the Korean Peninsula on March 15, 2018, and the petition received the required number of signatures within a month.We the People website, "A Peace Treaty on the Korean Peninsula". March 15, 2018. Regarding a third inter-Korean summit and a permanent peace solution on the Korean Peninsula, about 83 percent of the South Korean people support a diplomatic solution.mediatoday.co.kr -25 Sept 2018: "Three major Broadcasting Poll shows, the inter-Korean Summit in Pyongyang 'Good' 80%" (in Korean).politico -25 September 2018: "How US and North Korea could stumble into World War III| politico"nationalinterest.org -21 Sept 2018: "How North Korea Could Start World War III: A War Between Russia and America" According to South Korean president Moon Jae-in, the Korean War will end sooner rather than later. Moon is trying to persuade Kim Jong Un to give up his nuclear program and weapons by showing him a brighter economic future with South Korean cooperation.bbc.com - 12 Oct 2018: "South Korea's Moon optimistic about end to Korean War"bbc.com - 26 April 2018: "Moon Jae-in: South Korea's president with humble roots" In the context of the peace process, reunification of the Korean Peninsula is a strategic agenda that the current South Korean government has been focusing on. In particular, President Park Geun-hye, who preceded President Moon Jae-in, emphasized the importance of reunification, making a related comment that a single Korea "would be a great benefit for neighboring countries".dw.com - 24 Jan 2014: "South Korean president describes a single Korea as a jackpot for the whole of northeast Asia. Polls suggest the majority of South Koreans support the concept" This has been a hot topic for both the ruling and opposition parties in the government.BBC.com - 28 Jan 2014: "Unification has become something of a buzzword in South Korea"eastasiaforum.org - 3 Feb 2015: "Korean reunification still on the agenda in 2015"

North Korea