Peace in Korea

The conflict in Korea dates back to 1945—the end of the second world war. When the war ended, the previously Japanese controlled Korea was split temporarily between the Soviet Union and the United States. They planned to eventually create a single, unified state, but relations between the Soviets and the US became poor due to the cold war, and Korea remained divided. This eventually resulted in the Korean War, in 1950, in which over a million people died, and has led to poor relations between North and South Korea ever since. The conflict between North and South Korea has become especially relevant to the US more recently, due to nuclear testing by North Korea. It does however seem that this conflict won't progress any further. After years of hostilities, the two nations have committed to perusing peace between the two countries. North Korea, both to show peaceful intentions and due to pressure from the United States, has closed some of its nuclear and missile testing facilities. Additionally, presidents Kim Jong Un and Moon Jae-in met several times in September, and came to a set of agreements to work towards peace between their two countries, such as slight demilitarization and submitting a joint bid to host the 2032 Summer Olympics. I think the reason that peace is finally happening after so long is due to foreign pressure, and what was essentially a stalemate. South Korea is essentially backed by the entire western world, and militarily by the United States. North Korea is being crippled by sanctions, which are even being followed by China, one of the only countries with friendly relations to the state. Additionally, the state focused heavily on military, likely spending a lot of money. There are many clear reasons why ending the conflict is in the country's best interest. For South Korea, the conflict meant worrying about potential conflict with the northern state. There was no real way to get anything out of the conflict other than waiting for North Korea to potentially collapse, so it makes sense that South Korea would likely be interested in peace as well. I think that this combination of it being in the states' best interest, and foreign pressure is what will finally end this long-standing conflict.

Citations

Wertz, Daniel. “Inter-Korean Relations.” NCNK, The National Committee on North Korea, 23 June 2017, www.ncnk.org/resources/briefing-papers/all-briefing-papers/inter-korean-relations.

Berlinger, Joshua. “North and South Korea Commit to 'Era of No War'.” CNN, Cable News Network, 19 Sept. 2018, www.cnn.com/2018/09/18/asia/north-korea-south-korea-summit-intl/index.html.

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