[Aju News DB]
SEOUL -- At their groundbreaking summit next week, South and North Korean leaders could discuss a peace treaty to replace an armistice accord which left the Korean peninsula in a status of war for more than six decades, a senior presidential official said Wednesday.
The Koreas are examining the possibility of changing the armistice system into a peace regime when South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un meet next Friday in the truce village of Panmunjom, the official told reporters on condition of anonymity.
"We are reviewing and consulting various ways to develop the security situation of the Korean Peninsula to a more peaceful system," the official said. "Of course we can not do it with our own thoughts, so there is a process to discuss with the related parties."
During the 1950-53 Korean War, troops from the United States and other countries fought alongside South Korea under a United Nations flag. The two Koreas are still technically at war because no peace treaty was signed. The Demilitarized zone, a buffer zone which bisects the Korean peninsula, was set up under a truce accord signed by North Korea, China and the United States.
At previous talks, the two Koreas have discussed the same subject or signed accords on ending hostilities, but they were back to square one because Pyongyang always insisted on a separate non-aggression accord with Washington.
Various ways to establish a peace system such as an agreement to ban hostilities can be discussed at the inter-Korean summit, the presidential official said, adding an agreement between the two countries should be endorsed by other relevant countries including the United States.
Seoul and Washington may seek to sign a peace treaty with North Korea if the communist state completely gives up nuclear ambitions, said Chung Eui-yong, head of the presidential National Security Office.
Chung said that he held discussions with U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton during his recent trip to Washington on how to end inter-Korean hostilities and guarantee the North's "bright future" if Kim makes a right decision.
"We exchanged views on the possibility of a summit meeting between the three countries in order to achieve this goal successfully," he told reporters, adding Pyongyang showed its willingness to discuss denuclearisation while making no provocations for months. "This shows that North Korea is more realistically aware of the security situation on the Korean peninsula."
In Washington, U.S. President Donald Trump, who is to meet with Kim in May or early June, offered his "blessing" to inter-Korean discussions on ending their decades-long war. "They do have my blessing to discuss the end to the war," he said at a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at the Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.
"People don't realize the Korean War has not ended. It's going on right now. And they are discussing an end to the war. So, subject to a deal, they would certainly have my blessing. And they do have my blessing to discuss that," Trump said.
reporter
Lim Chang-won
cwlim34@ajunews.com
