Question: When was the peace treaty between North and South Korea signed?

Peace Treaty on Korean Peninsula






The Peace Treaty on Korean Peninsula is a proposed settlement to formally end all military hostilities on the Korean Peninsula and a follow-up to the 1953 Korean Armistice Agreement, which was implemented by the United Nations after the Korean War (1950–53). Before the Trump–Kim summit, US President Donald Trump announced that he would end the Korean War and establish permanent peace on the Korean Peninsula.[1] Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un have also signed the Joint Statement [2] during Trump–Kim summit which reaffirmed the Panmunjom Declaration.[3]  During the Inter-Korean summit on April 27, 2018, Kim Jong-un and Moon Jae-in officially signed the Panmunjom Declaration, which involved an agreement over mutual efforts and action items for transforming the Korean Armistice Agreement into a peace treaty on the Korean Peninsula with the cooperation of the US and China.[4]
Overview
On June 12, 2018, US President Donald Trump and North Korean Chairman of the State Affairs Commission Kim Jong-un agreed to speed up the denuclearization process on the Korean Peninsula by building a new relationship between the United States and Democratic People's Republic of Korea and signed the Joint Statement. Kim requested the US formally end the Korean war in order to finalize the complete denuclearization schedule.[5] In the past, with the advancement of North Korea's nuclear and missile program, the United States had considered a military option[6] or a diplomatic negotiation with North Korea to try securing its denuclearization.[7]
There are ongoing mediations with Two Koreas, US and China about the declaration of ending the Korean War 1950-53. North and South Korea prefer making the declaration of ending the war first, but China advocates a peace treaty preferably because that will be lawfully binding on all parties. US favour a bilateral statement with DPRK as per the potential request from China about the influence on the presence of USFK.[8] Russia President Vladimir Putin had reconfirmed the peace treaty with Japan about WWII, and addressed that the DPRK's nuclear issue should be resolved in "a political and diplomatic manner”.[9]  Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs endorsed the Panmunjom Declaration positively.[10] Russian President Vladimir Putin provided Trump with an idea curbing DPRK's nuclear issue by stopping the joint military exercise of USFK during the diplomatic gatherings in Germany in July 2017.  Trump agreed to suspend “war games” with South Korea during Trump–Kim summit on 2018.[11]
Proposed Conditions of the Treaty
Resolving the North Korea's nuclear and Military Challenge, there are several trials of agreement between the U.S. and North Korea in 1994 by Agreed Framework, 2005 and in 2007.[12][13] USC Korean Studies Institute Director and Professor of International Relations, Mr Kang scrutinised the previous efforts to the nuclear issues based on years of US–DPRK negotiations. The fundamental reason for this stalemate is due to the difference in the views between the two governments. The United States favours North Korean denuclearization prior to any security agreements, while North Korea steadfastly refuses to give up it's nuclear weapons before any such agreement is reached.[14][15][16][17][18]
History
The United States is increasingly attempting to secure the denuclearization of North Korea through a peace treaty on the Korean Peninsula. This due to continuous nuclear testing by North Korea and the development of new ICBM technology that is capable of reaching the United States from North Korea.[19]
Prior to World War II, Korea was united for over a thousand years, known previously as Goryeo and Joseon. Having been colonised by Japan from 1910 to 1945, after World War II, Korea was divided into two countries along the 38th parallel (now the Korean Demilitarized Zone). North Korea was administered by the Soviet Union in the years immediately following the war, with South Korea being managed by the United States. In 1950, North Korea invaded the South, beginning the Korean War, which ended in stalemate in 1953.
On July 27, 1953, after the Korean War, despite President Syngman Rhee's disagreement with the United States' pursuit of a ceasefire with China and separation of North and South Korea, under the U.S. - led United Nations intervention, the two Koreas were divided. After the Geneva Conference (1954), President Rhee hoped the unification under the general election of the two Koreas by the surveillance of the United Nations, but due to the many starved soldiers and political problems after the war,  Rhee resigned from his presidential post in 1960.[20]
On May 16, 1961, President Park Chung-hee took control of South Korea in a military coup. In the 1960s, to restore the Korean economy after the Korean War, "Reunification of Korea after the construction of economy" was the motto which is focused on economic recovery and national strength. In the 1970s, after the internationalization of Détente and the success of Korean economic development, the two countries began negotiations on inter-Korean negotiations and, in 1972, the July 4th North–South Korea Joint Statement was drawn up, but it was used to amend the Constitution for the long-term administration of its regime, justifying the need for independent reunification without foreign interference. The new version of Korea constitution was Yushin Constitution. There was no further implementation for reunification on the Korean Peninsula.[21]
On August 5, 2017, Chinese President Xi Jinping called for Donald Trump to resolve the North Korean nuclear issue through a peaceful resolution on the principle of mutual respect between the nations in the face of heightened military tensions. At the G20 Summit in Hamburg, Germany in 2017, Xi Jinping also reaffirmed the discussion on the peace settlement in the Korean Peninsula.[22]
On September 3, 2017, North Korea successfully tested a thermonuclear bomb, the result was verified by the USGS making the blast around 10 times more powerful than previous detonations by the country.[23] It is similar to an earthquake of magnitude 6.3. Later the nuclear-bomb yield was estimated to be 250 kilotons, based on a further study of the seismic data.[24] After the most substantial nuclear bomb test., in the late 2010s, relations between North and South Korea have warmed somewhat, beginning with North Korea's participation in the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea.[25][26]
Reactions
Reactions from US
Regarding the dismantling of a primary nuclear site in North Korea, South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha stated in October 2018 that he would like US Secretary of State  Mike Pompeo to agree to a declaration formally ending the Korean War as part of security guarantees for the North, with the intent of boosting North Korean confidence in the success of a denuclearization agreement. Pompeo states that he is considerably pleased to negotiate with Chairman Kim about dismantling their nuclear facilities in Yongbyon Nuclear Research Center, which is a huge part of their nuclear program, however, he is hesitant to express his opinion on the probability of  an “end-of-Korean war declaration."
[27][28][29] Washington post analyzed that there is enough momentum for a declaration ending the Korean war as it is a beneficial tool for the Trump administration to speed up the complete denuclearization of DPRK. This declaration is also just a symbolic diplomatic measure since it actually requires fewer judicial obstacles compared to a comprehensive peace treaty.  Another factor that makes this declaration more timely is the rapid growth of a warmer relationship between the two Koreas as an effect of the multiple inter-Korean summits. CNN also believes that the U.S. administration has a willingness for ending the Korean war towards achieving a rapid denuclearization of DPRK.[30][31][32]
Reactions from South Korea
The South Korean people signed a petition to the US White House regarding a peace treaty on the Korean Peninsula. The petition was started on March 15, 2018, and more than one hundred thousand people( (111,681) signed the petition within a month.  The US president officially responded to the petition as it is a policy in the U.S. that any petition having signed by more than one hundred thousand people within a month must be attended to.[33]
Regarding the third inter-Korean summit and a permanent peace solution in the Korean peninsula, about 83% of the South Korean people support the diplomatic solution to pursue the complete denuclearization of DPRK instead of going to war with them which may involve the U.S., China, and Russia.[34][35][36] 
The President of South Korea, Moon Jae-in, believes that the end to the Korean war will happen sooner than later. Mr. Moon is trying very hard to persuade the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, to give up his nuclear weapons and nuclear program by showing him a brighter economic future once cooperation with South Korea has been established instead of continuously promoting a hermit-type Kingdom in the North. President Moon himself has a personal desire for this peace treaty to take place as his ancestors come from the North. His mother 80 years of age has been separated from the rest of her family who are still living in North Korea.[37][38]
Timeline of Reactions
In March 2018, Chinese President Xi Jinping suggested a Korean peace treaty to US leader Donald Trump via phone conversation by the report of Kyodo News, and he also stressed that the four parties: U.S., South and North Korea and China should be included.[39] Chinese President Xi and Korean President Moon Jae-in agreed on mutual efforts to bring about a positive change to conditions surrounding the Korean Peninsula after inter-Korean summit on April 2018.[40]
On 16 April 2018, President Trump had a bilateral meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Mar-a-Lago, Trump announced that Japan and US had a shared objective in fixing the North Korea issue, and he emphasized that Korean War had not yet ended, but he endorsed the End To Korean War with his blessing.[1] US President Trump wrote his plan about Korean War regarding Korean peninsula on 27 April on his Twitter account "KOREAN WAR TO END! The United States, and all of its GREAT people, should be very proud of what is now taking place in Korea!" Trump has also vowed to work with adjacent Korea President Moon to pressure North Korea into abandoning its burgeoning ICBM and nuclear weapons program,[41] which has caused anxieties in the Asia Pacific region for years.[42]
On 29 April 2018, United States Senate Armed Services Committee Lindsey Graham had an interview with Fox News, he stressed that North Korea has a capability to hit USA by Nuclear Weapons, but North Korea has not many options for their survival, and they should make a deal with their nuclear program along with the regime's safety, stability and economic development. The previous nuclear deal with Iran is useless as, under the current agreement, Iran continuously enrich their nuclear fuel without 3rd party's inspection, and Iran could develop atomic Weapons in the future quickly. It's not a smart deal for the world, but the new agreement with North Korea should include verifiable process about the nuclear program. If Trump administration success to establish the Korean War ends, it certainly deserves Nobel Prize.[43]
On 1 June 2018, in an interview with CNBC regarding the meeting with North Korean aide Kim Yong Chol at the White House, Trump stated that he did not like DPRK's meeting with Russia but he said the Korean War is the protracted war which is 65 years in our war history, and it is a reasonable time to end the war.[44]
On 12 June, after Trump–Kim summit, The former advisor to President Trump, Sebastian Gorka had an interview with FOX Business, regarding the President's hard line-rhetoric speech examples "My nuclear red button is bigger than yours, Rocketman and fire and fury.", It was a decent way to attack back to the North Korea's aggressive actions and it was backed by the US Defense team like former four-star marine corps legend and United States Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis; he said "if you threaten us, Kim, we will annihilate your regime", however, the previous US administration was unsuccessful to handling DPRK for 25 years although, previously DPRK did not have ICBM nuclear missiles with capability to fly over several thousand miles and reaching to the USA mainland. The strategy and measures of Trump administration, bring Kim Jong-un to the negotiation table in Singapore and sign the denuclearization agreement.[45]
On 27 July, Kim Hong-gul, chairman of the Korean Council for Reconciliation and Cooperation, Pyongyang expressed its urgency in signing an official declaration to end the 1950-1953 Korean War and it would speed up the denuclearization process on the Korean Peninsula via the mutual trustful relations between the US and the DPRK. Previously DPRK wanted a peace treaty but now the "end-of-war declaration" would be the first step towards the common goal of speedier denuclearization.[46]  On 24 July 2018 it was reported that North Korea was dismantling a nuclear rocket launching and testing site near Tongchang-ri which Kim Jong-Un pledged to President Trump he will dismantle during Trump–Kim summit.  South Korean President Moon Jae In called the move "a good sign for North Korea’s denuclearization” and "Kim Jong-un’s sincerity" for peace.[47]
On 27 July, on the 65th anniversary of the armistice on the Korean War, North Korea returned the remains of 55 American military service members who were killed during the Korean War to the United States.[48] But, according to North Korea's state media, North Korea is silent on return of the remains of American Military Services members bask to U.S.[49] Harry Kazianis director of defense studies at the United States Center for the National Interest expressed his opinion that considering the Korean war - remains are handed over to the U.S., President Trump should respond to the goodwill gesture with a bold move. Although there was a comprehensive agreement of denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula during Singapore summit, the establishment of the peace treaty would be crucial for asking DPRK to give up their nuclear arsenal and ICBM advancement program. However, the U.S should not consider the signing this peace treaty as any kind of credit to North Korea for achieving peace since Korean War ended 65 years ago and the declaration of the end of the war should have been finalized decades ago.[50]
On 4 August during the ASEAN Regional Forum 2018, North Korea's nuclear program was the critical agenda item. ASEAN foreign ministers issued a joint statement calling for "complete denuclearization" which is the same phrase used in the joint statement issued after the summit, and represents a change from last year's call for "“complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization".[51] South Korea's Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha has said that she had "considerable" consultations over the issue of the declaration to a formal end of the 1950-53 Korean war with the Chinese and U.S. foreign ministers.[52] Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said "everyone can announce a declaration ending the war if they do not want the war to happen again". 
[53] North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho said he was “alarmed” by the US insistence on maintaining sanctions until North Korea denuclearizes and what he said was U.S. reluctance to declare a formal end to the Korean War.[54]
United States Forces in Korea maintains several nuclear bomber fighters and DPRK is demanding the U.S. safety guarantee for giving up nuclear weapon programs of Pyongyang.[55] North Korea wants the next Trump–Kim summit to resolve the currently gridlocked negotiation process of security guarantee and denuclearization.[56] It is a strong feasibility of second US-DPRK summit within this year as there were a recent exchange of letters between Trump and Kim and Trump is popularly expected to promote his progress on the North Korean nuclear issue as a critical accomplishment before the U.S.midterm elections on 6 November 2018.[57]
Gallery


Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un shaking hands at the red carpet during the DPRK–United States Singapore Summit.
Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un standing next to each other at the Capella Hotel on Sentosa Island in Singapore.
Moon Jae-in and Kim Jong-un are holding the Panmunjom Declaration on the South Korean side of the Peace House in the DMZ.
Moon Jae-in and Kim Jong-un are raising the hands together after signing the Panmunjom Declaration on the South Korean side of the Peace House in the Joint Security Area.
After the Trump–Kim summit, North Korea searched for and returned the remains of U.S. POWs and MIAs from the Korean War. The US war remains were delivered from the eastern DPRK city of Wonsan by U.S. military transport plane C-17 Globemaster to the Osan Air Base near Seoul in South Korea.
The casualties of the Korean War are back on U.S. soil following an emotional ceremony in Hawaii.The DoD Lab has begun the painstaking process of identifying what are believed to be the remains of U.S. servicemen killed during the Korean War 1950-53.
North Korea shut down its Punggye-ri nuclear test site on 23 May (Thursday) to demonstrate its commitment to denuclearization.
The South Korean government welcomed the DPRK's unilateral nuclear concession to help facilitate a broader agreement with the United States to completely end its nuclear weapons program.
North Korea dismantled the various significant parts and permanent structure of the Sohae ICBM missile & Satellite Launching Station.

See also

2018 Korean peace process
Inter-Korean summits
September 2018 inter-Korean summit
2018 North Korea–United States summit
2019 North Korea–United States summit
Korean reunification
Korean conflict
Index of Korea-related articles


Further reading