North, South Korea Leaders Agree to Rekindle Stalled Nuclear Talks

Denuclearization looms large in three-day summit

While all the details of the inter-Korean summit will not be clear until a closing statement is issued later this week, early indications are that the two leaders, President Moon Jae-in and Kim Jong-un, have agreed on a path to try to resume nuclear talks, which have been stalled for awhile.

Kim agreed to denuclearization during the first summit, and reiterated that agreement during the Trump-Kim summit. Some facilities have been closed, and testing halted, but there is increasing push-back, with North Korea frustrated that there has been no progress toward a peace deal since these previous meetings.

North Korea’s main goal is to reach a deal ending the Korean War, which began in 1950. The US has resisted advancing toward such a deal, but South Korea’s President Moon has been very supportive of an irreversible peace plan.

Making such a peace plan might be easier between the two Koreas, without the Trump Administration’s pressure to “get something” in return. Kim has insisted that there is no need for a nuclear program if the war ends, and they aren’t at risk of being attacked. Having a path to peace in and of itself could go a long way toward speeding up denuclearization.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.