The Korean Armistice Agreement ( ko, 한국정전협정 / 조선정전협정; zh, t=韓國停戰協定 / 朝鮮停戰協定) is an
armistice
An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from the ...
that brought about a complete cessation of hostilities of the
Korean War
, date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
. It was signed by
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...
Lieutenant General
Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...
William Harrison Jr. and
General
A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry.
In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...
Mark W. Clark
Mark Wayne Clark (May 1, 1896 – April 17, 1984) was a United States Army officer who saw service during World War I, World War II, and the Korean War. He was the youngest four-star general in the US Army during World War II.
During World War I ...
representing the
United Nations Command
United Nations Command (UNC or UN Command) is the multinational military force established to support the Republic of Korea (South Korea) during and after the Korean War. It was the first international unified command in history, and the first a ...
(UNC),
North Korea
North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and T ...
leader
Kim Il-sung
Kim Il-sung (; , ; born Kim Song-ju, ; 15 April 1912 – 8 July 1994) was a North Korean politician and the founder of North Korea, which he ruled from the country's establishment in 1948 until his death in 1994. He held the posts of ...
and General
Nam Il
Nam Il (5 June 1915 – 7 March 1976) was a Russian-born North Korean military officer and co-signer of the Korean Armistice Agreement.
Biography
Nam was born Yakov Petrovich Nam in the Russian Far East. Due to a Soviet policy, Nam's family, l ...
representing the
Korean People's Army
The Korean People's Army (KPA; ) is the military force of North Korea and the armed wing of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK). Under the '' Songun'' policy, it is the central institution of North Korean society. Currently, WPK General S ...
(KPA), and
Peng Dehuai representing the
Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...
People's Volunteer Army (PVA). The armistice was signed on 27 July 1953, and was designed to "ensure a complete cessation of hostilities and of all acts of armed force in Korea until a final peaceful settlement is achieved."
During the
1954 Geneva Conference
The Geneva Conference, intended to settle outstanding issues resulting from the Korean War and the First Indochina War, was a conference involving several nations that took place in Geneva, Switzerland, from 26 April to 20 July 1954. The part ...
in Switzerland,
Chinese Premier
The premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China, commonly called the premier of China and sometimes also referred to as the prime minister, is the head of government of China and leader of the State Council. The premier is ...
and foreign minister
Chou En-lai
Zhou Enlai (; 5 March 1898 – 8 January 1976) was a Chinese statesman and military officer who served as the first premier of the People's Republic of China from 1 October 1949 until his death on 8 January 1976. Zhou served under Chairman Ma ...
suggested that a peace treaty should be implemented on the Korean peninsula. However, the US secretary of state,
John Foster Dulles, did not accommodate this attempt to achieve such a treaty. A final peace settlement has never been achieved.
The signed armistice established the
Korean Demilitarized Zone
The Korean Demilitarized Zone ( Korean: ; Hanbando Bimujang Jidae) is a strip of land running across the Korean Peninsula near the 38th parallel north. The demilitarized zone (DMZ) is a border barrier that divides the peninsula roughly in ...
(DMZ), the de facto new border between the two nations, put into force a
cease-fire
A ceasefire (also known as a truce or armistice), also spelled cease fire (the antonym of 'open fire'), is a temporary stoppage of a war in which each side agrees with the other to suspend aggressive actions. Ceasefires may be between state act ...
, and finalized repatriation of
prisoners of war. The DMZ runs close to the
38th parallel and has separated North and
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...
since the Korean Armistice Agreement was signed in 1953.
South Korea never signed the Armistice Agreement, due to President
Syngman Rhee’s refusal to accept having failed to unify Korea by force. China normalized relations and signed a peace treaty with South Korea in 1992. In 1994, China withdrew from the
Military Armistice Commission
The United Nations Command Military Armistice Commission (UNCMAC) was established in July 1953 at the end of the Korean War to supervise the Korean Armistice Agreement
The Korean Armistice Agreement ( ko, 한국정전협정 / 조선정전 ...
, essentially leaving North Korea and the UN Command as the only participants in the armistice agreement.
In 2011, South Korea stated that North Korea had violated the armistice 221 times.
Background
By mid-December 1950, the United States was discussing terms for an agreement to end the Korean War. The desired agreement would end the fighting, provide assurances against its resumption, and protect the future security of UNC forces. The United States asked for a military armistice commission of mixed membership that would supervise all agreements. Both sides would need to agree to “cease the introduction into Korea of any reinforcing air, ground or naval units or personnel... and to refrain from increasing the level of war equipment and material existing in Korea.” The U.S. wished to create a demilitarized zone that would be roughly wide. The proposed agreement would also address the issue of
prisoners of war which the U.S. believed should be exchanged on a one-for-one basis.
While talk of a possible armistice agreement was circulating, in late May and early June 1951, the President of the Republic of Korea (ROK, South Korea)
Syngman Rhee opposed peace talks. He believed the ROK should continue to expand its army in order to march all the way to the
Yalu River
The Yalu River, known by Koreans as the Amrok River or Amnok River, is a river on the border between North Korea and China. Together with the Tumen River to its east, and a small portion of Paektu Mountain, the Yalu forms the border between ...
and completely unify the nation. The UNC did not endorse Rhee's position. Even without UNC support, Rhee and the South Korean government attempted to mobilize the public to resist any halt in the fighting short of the Yalu River. Other ROK officials supported Rhee's ambitions and the
National Assembly of South Korea
The National Assembly of the Republic of Korea, often shortened to the National Assembly in domestic English-language media, is the unicameral national legislature of South Korea. Elections to the National Assembly are held every four years. T ...
unanimously passed a resolution endorsing a continued fight for an "independent and unified country." At the end of June, however, the Assembly decided to support armistice talks, although President Rhee continued to oppose them.
Like Syngman Rhee, North Korean leader
Kim Il-sung
Kim Il-sung (; , ; born Kim Song-ju, ; 15 April 1912 – 8 July 1994) was a North Korean politician and the founder of North Korea, which he ruled from the country's establishment in 1948 until his death in 1994. He held the posts of ...
also sought complete unification. The North Korean side was slow to support armistice talks and only on 27 June 1951seventeen days after armistice talks had begundid it change its slogan of "drive the enemy into the sea" to "drive the enemy to the 38th parallel." North Korea was pressured to support armistice talks by its allies the People's Republic of China and the Soviet Union, whose support was vital to enabling North Korea to continue fighting.
Negotiations
![Korean Armistice En-Text 1953](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/24/Korean_Armistice_En-Text_1953.jpg)
Talks concerning an armistice started 10 July 1951, in
Kaesong, a North Korean city in
North Hwanghae Province, near the South Korean border. The two primary negotiators were Chief of Army Staff General Nam Il, a North Korean deputy premier, and United States Vice Admiral
Charles Turner Joy. After a period of two weeks, on 26 June 1951, a five-part agenda was agreed upon, which guided talks until the signing of the armistice on 27 July 1953. The items to be discussed were:
# Adoption of an agenda.
# Fixing a military demarcation line between the two sides to establish a demilitarized zone as a basic condition for the cessation of hostilities in Korea.
# Concrete arrangements for realization of a ceasefire and armistice in Korea, including the composition, authority, and functions of a supervisory organization to carry out the terms of a truce and armistice.
# Arrangements relating to prisoners-of-war.
# Recommendations to the governments of the countries concerned on both sides.
After the agenda was decided, talks proceeded slowly. There were lengthy intervals between meetings. The longest gap between discussions started on 23 August 1951, when North Korea and its allies claimed that the conference site in Kaesong had been bombed. North Korea requested for the UNC conduct to an immediate investigation, which concluded that there was evidence a UNC aircraft had attacked the conference site. The evidence, however, appeared to be manufactured. The communists subsequently refused to permit an investigation during daylight hours. Armistice talks did not start again until 25 October 1951. The US would not allow further discussion to take place in Kaesong.
Panmunjom
Panmunjom, also known as Panmunjeom, now located in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea or Kaesong, North Hwanghae Province, North Korea, was a village just north of the ''de facto'' border between North and South Korea, where the 1953 Korea ...
, a nearby village in
Kyonggi Province, close to both Koreas, was chosen as the new location for deliberations. That was conditional on responsibility for protection of the village being shared by both powers.
A major, problematic negotiation point was the repatriation of prisoners-of-war. The Communists held 10,000, and the UNC held 150,000. The PVA, KPA, and UNC could not agree on a system of repatriation because many PVA and KPA soldiers refused to be repatriated to the north,
which was unacceptable to the Chinese and North Koreans. In the final armistice agreement, signed on 27 July 1953, a
Neutral Nations Repatriation Commission, chaired by Indian General
K. S. Thimayya, was set up to handle the matter.
In 1952, the United States elected a new president,
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...
, and on 2 December 1952, he went to Korea to investigate what might end the war. With the UN accepting India's proposed Korean War armistice, the KPA, PVA, and UNC ceased fire with the battle line approximately at the Kansas Line, a line of UN positions north of the
38th parallel, which had been established in
Operation Rugged. Upon agreeing to the armistice, the belligerents established the
Korean Demilitarized Zone
The Korean Demilitarized Zone ( Korean: ; Hanbando Bimujang Jidae) is a strip of land running across the Korean Peninsula near the 38th parallel north. The demilitarized zone (DMZ) is a border barrier that divides the peninsula roughly in ...
(DMZ), which has since been patrolled by KPA, ROKA, United States, and Joint UNC forces. Discussions continued slowly because of difficulties regarding demarcation of the border between North and South Korea.
China and
North Korea
North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and T ...
expected the line to remain at the 38th parallel. Within weeks, however, both nations accepted the Kansas Line. In March 1953, the death of
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secretar ...
helped spur negotiations. While the Chinese leader
Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong pronounced ; also romanised traditionally as Mao Tse-tung. (26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976), also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the founder of the People's Republic of China (PRC) ...
was not then willing to compromise, the new Soviet leadership issued a statement two weeks after Stalin's death, which called for a quick end to hostilities.
![Building where the Korean Armistice Agreement was signed](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a5/Building_where_the_Korean_Armistice_Agreement_was_signed.jpg)
On 19 July 1953, the delegates reached agreement covering all issues on the agenda. On 27 July 1953, at 10:00 a.m., the Armistice was signed by Nam Il, a delegate of the KPA and PVA, and
William K. Harrison Jr., a UNC delegate.
[ Twelve hours after the signing of the document, all regulations that were approved in the armistice went into effect. The agreement provided for monitoring by an international commission. The ]Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission
The Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission (NNSC) was established by the Korean Armistice Agreement signed 27 July 1953, declaring an armistice in the Korean War. It is, with the Military Armistice Commission, part of the mechanism regulating the r ...
(NNSC) was established to prevent reinforcements being brought into Korea, whether additional military personnel or new weapons, and NNSC member inspection teams from Czechoslovakia, Poland, Sweden, and Switzerland operated throughout Korea.
Terms
The signed Armistice established a "complete cessation of all hostilities in Korea by all armed forces,"[ which was to be enforced by the commanders of both sides. The armistice is, however, only a ceasefire between military forces, rather than an agreement between governments to normalize relations.] No formal peace treaty
A peace treaty is an agreement between two or more hostile parties, usually countries or governments, which formally ends a state of war between the parties. It is different from an armistice
An armistice is a formal agreement of warring ...
was signed, and normalized relations were not restored. The armistice established the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) and the DMZ. The DMZ was agreed as a fortified buffer zone between the two Korean nations. The DMZ follows the Kansas Line, where the two sides actually confronted each other at the time of the signing of the Armistice. The DMZ is currently the most heavily-defended national border in the world .
The Armistice also established regulations regarding prisoners-of-war. The agreement stated:
Ultimately, more than 22,000 KPA or PVA soldiers refused repatriation. On the opposite side, 327 South Korean soldiers, 21 American soldiers, and 1 British soldier also refused repatriation and remained in North Korea or in China. (See list of American and British defectors in the Korean War
This list names the twenty-two United Nations soldiers and POWs (one British and 21 Americans) who declined repatriation to the United Kingdom and United States after the Korean War in favor of remaining in China, and their subsequent fates. Also ...
.)
With the signing of the Armistice, the war ended. Despite the three-year war, the international border remained at a similar location as from before the war.
Subsequent events
Failure of the Geneva Conference
Article IV (Paragraph 60) of the Armistice Agreement calls for a political conference to be held within 3 months of the signing of the agreement in order "to ensure the peaceful settlement of the Korean question." A conference was held in Geneva, Switzerland in April 1954, missing the 3 month timeline by 6 months. The conference focused on two separate conflicts: the conflict in Korea; and the conflict in Indochina. Participants in the talks on the conflict in Korea were the US, the USSR, France, China, and North and South Korea. The peace agreement on the Korean peninsula was officially raised at the conference, by Chinese diplomat Zhou Enlai with the US Secretary of Defense, John Foster Dulles, but no progress was made. The United States intentionally avoided discussing the “Peace Treaty on the Korean Peninsula,” in spite of criticism from the other representatives at the conference about the negative attitude of the United States.
United States abrogation of paragraph 13d
Paragraph 13d of the Armistice Agreement mandated that neither side introduce new weapons into Korea, other than piece-for-piece replacement of equipment. In September 1956 the U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Radford indicated that the U.S. military intention was to introduce atomic weapons into Korea, which was agreed to by the U.S. National Security Council and President Eisenhower. The U.S. unilaterally abrogated paragraph 13d, breaking the Armistice Agreement, despite concerns by United Nations allies. At a meeting of the Military Armistice Commission
The United Nations Command Military Armistice Commission (UNCMAC) was established in July 1953 at the end of the Korean War to supervise the Korean Armistice Agreement
The Korean Armistice Agreement ( ko, 한국정전협정 / 조선정전 ...
on 21 June 1957, the U.S. informed the North Korean representatives that the United Nations Command no longer considered itself bound by paragraph 13d of the armistice. In January 1958 nuclear armed Honest John missile
The MGR-1 Honest John rocket was the first nuclear-capable surface-to-surface rocket in the United States arsenal.The first nuclear-authorized ''guided'' missile was the MGM-5 Corporal. Originally designated Artillery Rocket XM31, the first uni ...
s and 280mm atomic cannons were deployed to South Korea, followed within a year by atomic demolition munitions
Atomic demolition munitions (ADMs), colloquially known as nuclear land mines, are small nuclear explosive devices. ADMs were developed for both military and civilian purposes. As weapons, they were designed to be exploded in the forward battle ...
and nuclear armed Matador cruise missiles with the range to reach China and the Soviet Union. North Korea believed the U.S. had introduced new weapons earlier, citing NNSC inspection team reports for August 1953 to April 1954. The U.S. believed that North Korea had introduced new weapons contrary to 13d, but did not make specific allegations.
Following the abrogation of paragraph 13d, the NNSC largely lost its function, and became primarily office based in the DMZ with a small staff. North Korea denounced the abrogation of paragraph 13d.[ North Korea responded militarily by digging massive underground fortifications resistant to nuclear attack, and by the forward deployment of its conventional forces so that the use of nuclear weapons against it would endanger South Korean and U.S. forces as well. In 1963 North Korea asked the Soviet Union and China for help in developing nuclear weapons, but was refused.
]
United Nations statements
In 1975, the U.N. General Assembly adopted resolutions endorsing the desirability of replacing the Armistice Agreement with a peace treaty and dissolving the UNC. This was followed by North Korean attempts to start peace discussions with the U.S. The U.S. however believed influencing China to restrict North Korean actions would be more effective.
In October 1996, the U.N. Security Council
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, and ...
, by a statement of the President of the Security Council, Honduras, urged that the Armistice Agreement should be fully observed until replaced by a new peace mechanism. Approving nations included the United States and the People's Republic of China, two of the armistice's signatories, effectively refuting any suggestion that the armistice was no longer in force.[
]
North Korean announcements to withdraw from the agreement
North Korea has announced that it will no longer abide by the armistice at least six times, in 1994, 1996, 2003, 2006, 2009, and 2013.
On 28 April 1994, North Korea announced that it would cease participating in the Military Armistice Commission, but would continue contact at Panmunjom through liaison officers and maintain the general conditions of the armistice. North Korea stated it regarded the U.S. deployment of Patriot missiles
The MIM-104 Patriot is a surface-to-air missile (SAM) system, the primary of its kind used by the United States Army and several allied states. It is manufactured by the U.S. defense contractor Raytheon and derives its name from the radar compon ...
in South Korea as terminating the armistice.
On 3 September 1994 China joined North Korea in withdrawing from and ceasing participation in the Military Armistice Commission.
In January 2002 U.S. President George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
, in his first State of the Union Address
The State of the Union Address (sometimes abbreviated to SOTU) is an annual message delivered by the president of the United States to a joint session of the United States Congress near the beginning of each calendar year on the current conditi ...
, labeled North Korea a part of an Axis of Evil
The phrase "axis of evil" was first used by U.S. President George W. Bush and originally referred to Iran, Iraq, and North Korea. It was used in Bush's State of the Union address on January 29, 2002, less than five months after the 9/11 attac ...
. In October 2006 North Korea conducted its first nuclear weapons test. There were two isolated violent incidents in 2010: the ROKS Cheonan sinking
The ROKS ''Cheonan'' sinking occurred on 26 March 2010, when , a of the Republic of Korea Navy, carrying 104 personnel, sank off the country's west coast near Baengnyeong Island in the Yellow Sea, killing 46 seamen. The cause of the sinkin ...
, which was attributed to North Korea, despite denials; and the North Korean Bombardment of Yeonpyeong
A bombardment is an attack by artillery fire or by dropping bombs from aircraft on fortifications, combatants, or towns and buildings.
Prior to World War I, the term was only applied to the bombardment of defenseless or undefended objects ...
. In 2010, the U.S. position regarding a peace treaty was that it could only be negotiated when North Korea "takes irreversible steps toward denuclearization."
In 2011, South Korea stated that North Korea had violated the armistice 221 times.
In 2013 North Korea argued that the Armistice was meant to be a transitional measure and that North Korea had made a number of proposals for replacing the armistice with a peace treaty, but the U.S. had not responded in a serious way. It further argued that the Military Armistice Commission and the NNSC had long been effectively dismantled, paralysing the supervisory functions of the Armistice. North Korea believes the annual U.S. and South Korean exercises Key Resolve
Key Resolve, previously known as Reception, Staging, Onward Movement, Integration ( RSOI) which was previously known as Team Spirit even earlier, is an annual command post exercise (CPX) held by United States Forces Korea with the Republic of K ...
and Foal Eagle
Foal Eagle ( ko, 독수리 연습) is a combined field training exercise (FTX) conducted annually by the Republic of Korea Armed Forces and the United States Armed Forces under the auspices of the Combined Forces Command. It is one of the largest ...
are provocative and threaten North Korea with nuclear weapons. JoongAng Ilbo
''The JoongAng'', formally known as ''JoongAng Ilbo'', is a South Korean daily newspaper published in Seoul, South Korea. It is one of the three biggest newspapers in South Korea, and a newspaper of record for South Korea. The paper also pub ...
reported that U.S. vessels equipped with nuclear weapons were participating in the exercise, and the Pentagon
The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense. It was constructed on an accelerated schedule during World War II. As a symbol of the U.S. military, the phrase ''The Pentagon'' is often used as a meton ...
publicly announced that B-52 bombers
The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress is an American long-range, subsonic, jet-powered strategic bomber. The B-52 was designed and built by Boeing, which has continued to provide support and upgrades. It has been operated by the United States Air ...
flown over South Korea were reaffirming the U.S. "nuclear umbrella" for South Korea.
In March 2013, North Korea announced that it was scrapping all non-aggression pacts with South Korea. It also closed the border and closed the direct phone line between the two Koreas. North Korea further stated it had the right to make a preemptive nuclear attack. A United Nations spokesman stated that the Armistice Agreement had been adopted by the U.N. General Assembly, and could not be unilaterally dissolved by either North Korea or South Korea. On 28 March 2013, the U.S. sent two B-2 Spirit
The Northrop (later Northrop Grumman) B-2 Spirit, also known as the Stealth Bomber, is an American heavy strategic bomber, featuring low-observable stealth technology designed to penetrate dense anti-aircraft defenses. A subsonic flying ...
stealth bombers to South Korea to participate in ongoing military exercises in the region, including the dropping of inert munitions on a South Korean bomb range. This was the first B-2 non-stop, round-trip mission to Korea from the United States. Following this mission, North Korean state media announced that it was readying rockets to be on standby to attack U.S. targets. In May 2013, North Korea offered to enter into negotiations for a peace treaty to replace the armistice agreement.
In August 2016, North Korea installed anti-personnel mines to prevent the defection of its front-line border guards around the Bridge of No Return, situated in the Joint Security Area (JSA). The UN Command protested this move as it violates the Armistice Agreement which specifically prohibits armed guards and anti-personnel mines.
In 2016, when North Korea proposed formal peace talks, the U.S. adjusted its position from the pre-condition that North Korea should have already taken “irreversible steps toward denuclearization,” to a negotiating stance that includes North Korea halting its nuclear program. The discussions did not take place. A State Department spokesman said that “ orth Koreaperiodically raise the idea and it never really gets far.”
Panmunjom Declaration
On 27 April 2018 the Panmunjom Declaration for Peace, Prosperity and Unification on the Korean Peninsula was signed by South Korean President Moon Jae-in
Moon Jae-in (; ; born 24 January 1953) is a South Korean former politician, civil servant and lawyer who served as the 12th president of South Korea between 2017 and 2022. Prior to his presidency, he served as Senior Secretary for Civil Affairs an ...
and the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un which commits the two countries to denuclearization and talks to bring a formal end to conflict. The two leaders agreed to, later in the year, convert the Korean Armistice Agreement into a full peace treaty, formally ending the Korean War after 65 years. The DPRK later called off talks with South Korea scheduled for 16 May, blaming U.S.–South Korean military exercises, and threw the planned 12 June summit into doubt, saying it might not attend if Washington continues to demand it unilaterally abandon its nuclear arsenal. The 2018 North Korea–United States Summit
Eighteen or 18 may refer to:
* 18 (number), the natural number following 17 and preceding 19
* one of the years 18 BC, AD 18, 1918, 2018
Film, television and entertainment
* ''18'' (film), a 1993 Taiwanese experimental film based on the sho ...
was held in Singapore on 12 June 2018 at Capella Hotel
The Capella Resort, Singapore is a luxury resort situated in of grounds and gardens located on Sentosa Island, Singapore. It has 112 manors, suites and guestrooms designed by Norman Foster. It was developed by Pontiac Land and officially opened ...
despite previous tensions before the summit. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and United States President Donald Trump signed a joint declaration that declared the following:
# The United States and the DPRK commit to establish new U.S.–DPRK relations in accordance with the desire of the peoples of the two countries for peace and prosperity.
# The United States and the DPRK will join their efforts to build a lasting and stable peace regime on the Korean Peninsula.
# Reaffirming the April 27, 2018 Panmunjom Declaration, the DPRK commits to work towards the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.
# The United States and the DPRK commit to recovering POW/MIA remains including the immediate repatriation of those already identified.
The joint statement also includes Trump's commitment to providing security guarantees to North Korea and that there will be follow-up negotiations between Secretary of State Mike Pompeo
Michael Richard Pompeo (; born December 30, 1963) is an American politician, diplomat, and businessman who served under President Donald Trump as director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) from 2017 to 2018 and as the 70th United State ...
and an undetermined high-level North Korean official thereafter.
At the start of a three-day summit with South Korean President Moon Jae-in in Pyongyang, the pair's third meeting of 2018, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un stated that his meeting with Trump “provided geopolitical stability and that he expects more progress in talks between his nation and Washington.” Kim also credited Moon with making the “historic” U.S.–DPRK summit in Singapore possible. The third day of the Moon–Kim summit yielded a joint statement from the two leaders announcing an agreement to pursue a co-host bid for the 2032 Olympic Games. Further, the joint statement announced that the two nations will now “participate jointly” at international competitions, including the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games., although North Korea did not ultimately attend the Tokyo games.
Commemorations
Over the years, United States Presidents have made proclamations
A proclamation (Lat. ''proclamare'', to make public by announcement) is an official declaration issued by a person of authority to make certain announcements known. Proclamations are currently used within the governing framework of some nations ...
in support of the National Korean War Veterans Armistice Day. For instance, following the example of every U.S. president since Eisenhower, on 26 July 2017, President Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...
proclaimed 27 July as National Korean War Veterans Armistice Day.
North Korea commemorates 27 July as a national holiday known as Day of Victory in the Great Fatherland Liberation War
The Day of Victory in the Great Fatherland Liberation War (Victory Day) is a national holiday in North Korea celebrated on July 27 to mark the signing of the Korean Armistice Agreement which brought a cease fire to the Fatherland Liberation War t ...
.
Gallery
See also
* Korean conflict
The Korean conflict is an List of ongoing armed conflicts, ongoing conflict based on the division of Korea between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) and South Korea (Republic of Korea), both of which claim to be the sole legit ...
*
* Northern Limit Line
The Northern Limit Line or North Limit Line (NLL) – 북방한계선 (in ROK) – is a disputed maritime demarcation line in the Yellow (West) Sea between the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on the north, and the Republic of Ko ...
* Korean reunification
Korean reunification () is the potential reunification of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and the Republic of Korea into a single Korean sovereign state. The process towards reunification was started by the June 15th North–South Jo ...
* North Korea and weapons of mass destruction
* Hambak-do
References
Citations
Sources
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Further reading
*
External links
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Korea-related lists
Military history of Korea
Military of North Korea
North Korea–South Korea border
Panmunjom