In the final months of his single term in office, South Korean President Moon Jae-in is making a strong push to formally end the Korean War. In response, the North has signaled its openness to the proposal, provided its conditions are met. Setting aside for a moment the policy debate over whether that would be a good idea, it is worth considering the logical end of such a peace treaty: Korean reunification. While many in the West assume reunification of the two Koreas would occur on Seoul’s terms, history and recent developments on the peninsula suggest that might not be the case. Since the Korean War ended with a truce in 1953, North Korea has never given up its goal of reunifying the peninsula on its own terms.

Source: The North Africa Journal November 19, 2021 01:20 UTC