The War that Many Thought Would Start Finally Ends?

April 27, 2018 a day that will always be remembered in Korean history. The two leaders of both North and South Korea have made history by meeting at the border of the two Koreas and for the first time.  The North Korean leader decided to come to South Korea for a day long summit to sign the Panmunjom Declaration of Peace, Prosperity and the Unification of the Korean Peninsula finally ending the war.

 

On July 27, 1953 the Korean War was at a stand still after the leaders signed an armistice stating that the countries would suspend open hostilities, stay out of each other’s territory and the DMZ. Thus North and South Korea split into two and the war has been on hold ever since. From then on North Korea became known as a communist nation, and South Korea pursued democracy. During the sixty years that they have decided to discontinue the war there have been on and off threats from North Korea. North Korea has even threatened many countries with nuclear bombs, especially the United States of America and South Korea.

On April 27, 2018 South Korean president Moon Jae In and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met at the Panmunjom to discuss many important issues. One of the main issues are the nuclear tests that North Korea has continued to conduct. Many just hoped that President Moon Jae In would be able to convince North Korea to end nuclear testing. It came to light that the president was able to do much more than that when it was announced that the two Koreas had decided to formally end the war between the two nations.

 

John Choe, a veteran from the Korean War, said, “I’m happy that this is over but I still am worried that North Korea might attack us one day. You never know when a surprise attack can happen. I’m worried that a war might happen again.” Many people may think this because the agreement that took place at the summit seemed so sudden.

This is a way that North Korea is trying to gain trust. The moves that North Korea made towards peace may show that they no longer want to be a country who has no connection to the outside world. They could be opening up to the world and trying to unite. This could be positive in many ways, but there are also negative aspects about this situation.

Due to the fact that North Korea will not give up their dictatorship, it is highly unlikely that they can unite with South Korea. This also means that the United States and China would have to agree to work together to help the two Koreas reconcile. Many people also remain skeptical about North Korea, and feel that North Korea might launch a sudden attack against the south at a moments notice.

 

The erratic behavior displayed by North Korea in the past leave many people. While this summit symbolized a huge step forward for the two countries, the future of these two nations remains uncertain. President Trump and North Korea leader Kim Jong Un plan to meet at a summit in Singapore where they are expected to discuss the matter further.

 

Rachel Choe, Grade 9

Cypress High School