65 years after the 1953 armistice that stopped the open fighting of the Korean War, the nations involved still haven’t replaced it with a permanent peace treaty. This means that the Korean War is still technically ongoing, 68 years later. That’s apparently where the US intends for it to stay.
While North and South Korea have discussed deals to end the war, and the US nominally has given its imprimatur to the idea, US officials say that there is little interest in the Trump Administration to actually do this, with some seeing it as undermining their leverage against North Korea on denuclearization.
This would be a complicated matter this time, unlike the decades of previous US resistance to making peace with North Korea. That’s because now, South Korea is also on board for such a deal. In trying to delay such an important milestone, the US may be seen as obstructing diplomacy in general.
A spokesman for the US State Department said as much, that the US has “committed to building a peace mechanism with the goal of replacing the Armistice agreement when North Korea has denuclearized.” It’s not clear the world will want to wait, however.
North Korea’s state media says that ending the war is an important first step because of the history of extreme hostility on the border. The North Korean Foreign Ministry is also criticizing a recent US delegation for not mentioning the idea of peace.
South Korean officials have talked of the idea of reaching a peace deal this year, and China is also open to participating in the process. Though the US is a major belligerent within the Korean War, and would be needed for peace, being the lone holdout would be seriously embarrassing.
“US officials say that there is little interest in the Trump Administration to actually do this”
To be fair, that has been US policy for 68 years, and Trump backed down before swelling outrage in The Blob that feared he might finally consider a peace treaty.
Hurry up and do nothing!
“…can only come after full denuclearization ”
And what was the excuse 50 years ago, 40 years ago, 30 years ago, etc. Surely it wasn’t nukes then.
What comes first, peace or disarmament? NK has made numerous good-faith steps already. Now they’re expected to throw away their trump card before the war is technically over?! Once again there is an isolated, recalcitrant regime itching for more war: the US.
The Koreas should announce an agreement in principle on the peace treaty between both of them and China, and an expected signing date (eg. deadline) with discussions to follow with the US on the future of US forces in South Korea.
So tired of winning….
“being the lone holdout would be seriously embarrassing” Like we care. We have Nikki Haley as our UN ambassador so we obviously don’t get embarrassed easily.
We should care about being the lone holdout, since it would be seriously embarrassing, and having the screeching banshee Nikki Haley as our “UN Ambassador” is definitely embarrassing. We’re the laughingstock of the world, for Heaven’s sake. Sack that ranting idiot and replace her with someone who knows foreign policy/diplomacy inside and out, such as Dana Rohrabacher, a senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee; he’d be respected by just about everyone in the UNSC; Haley certainly isn’t, why should she, when she replies to her Chinese or Russian counterpart with stupid screeching gibberish? She certainly doesn’t represent me, and I’m a US citizen. I despise that banshee, and would kick her a$$ back to Calcutta in a flash, if I had the chance.
Adelson’s warmongering harpy.
She is almost, emphasis on almost, making Samantha Power look rational in comparison.
“Though the US is a major belligerent within the Korean War, and would be needed for peace….”
Agree to disagree. If the South kicks us out then we’re sh*t of luck unless we wan’t to go to war with the whole goddamn peninsula. Trump knows this, it’s why he caved to peace. The American Century is over. Someone hand me a fiddle.
Of course, the USA HATES even the idea of peace, and cannot end a war after 65 years with a peace treaty. Instead it wants to eliminate N Korea’s only defense, its nuke program (vastly bigger versions of which the USA of course intends to keep and use to threaten others) before giving any kind of genuine guarantee of non-interventions in DPRK. This is all the DPRK has asked for in all those years!!
“…the US is a major belligerent within the Korean War, and would be needed for peace…”
I must confess this puzzles me. You have North Korea. You have South Korea. We are told that they are at war, despite the fact that there’s been a notable lack of what we usually think of as “war” — you know, serious ongoing bombing and shooting and killing and stuff — for the last 65 years. And then you have the United States, which if my map-reading is correct, is quite a ways off on the other side of the world. Now I would say, though I’m just an ordinary person, that if North and South Korea want to declare and end to the war they haven’t been fighting with each other for 65 years, I’m at a loss to figure out where the United States would need to be consulted, would need to give its permission. Are there only children, no grown-ups in the two Koreas? I don’t know, maybe I’m missing something.
Okay, I get it, that the United States is “a major belligerent in the conflict”, but that should be between the United States and whoever it is they’re in “conflict” with. (Yeah, yeah, I know, North Korea.) But between North and South Korea, sovereign nations, they surely don’t need Daddy Warbucks’ permission to resume normal relations.
I am old enough to remember the Korean War. At the time, the point was made endlessly – that the war was being fought (on our side) by the UN. The “patriots” in America even complained about our troops serving under the UN flag. So, it is not our place to declare peace – North Korea should conduct the formal ending of the War with South Korea and the UN. Nikki Haley, Mad Dog Bolton and The Pompous One can go to Hell on their own diplomatic mission.
I wholeheartedly agree, at the time of the Korean War, the point was made endlessly, that the war was being fought on our side by the UN. However, I was too young, barely 5 years old when the war broke out. The patriots in the US did complain about our troops serving under the UN flag; so, it’s not our place to declare peace, the DPRK should conduct the formal ending of the war with S. Korea and the UN. And, as far as I’m concerned, Screeching banshee Nikki Haley, Bonkers Bolton and Pompous Pompeo can go to Hell on their own “diplomatic” mission. The two Koreas and the UN are the only ones here who have the authority to put a formal end to the Korean War for good; all the US needs to do is pull all their forces and military equipment (including the inefficient THAAD missile defense systems out of S. Korea.
I figured that’s why the bone boxes were covered with UN flags. Wonder if the interments were separated by country, or you just dig up a sampling of whoever. Forensic anthropologists got a big job ahead of them.
I was still a little kid, but I do remember the end of the Korean War.
I figured that’s why the bone boxes were covered with UN flags. Wonder if the interments were separated by country, or you just dig up a sampling of whoever. Forensic anthropologists got a big job ahead of them.
I was still a little kid, but I do remember the end of the Korean War.
That’s a good question Jeffrey, I looked it up a bit, and I don’t see where the US has any authority at all. The Koreans have already signed a defacto agreement, tho not one related to the armistice, per se. I think the way for them, if the US continues to be in the way, is for the Koreans to sign a mutual defense pact. If the US decides to strike unilaterally, they are war with both. I believe this would give the US a clue as to where the door is.
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America’s business is war, not peace!
Hence, its maxi approach to “diplomacy” and negotiations, The other party must give up everything and then maybe the us will talk, maybe.
It is remarkable in a negative way that any party enters into negotiations with us and even more remarkable that the other party agrees with the us and then expects (hopes) that the us will abide by the agreement.