PSPD in English Peace/Disarmament 2019-02-28   3164

[Statement] The second DPRK-US Summit : Dialogue Must Continue

The second DPRK-US Summit : Despite Ending without an Agreement, Dialogue and Negotiation Must Continue

28 Feb 2019

 

 

On February 28, the second DPRK-US Summit ended without agreement. It is regrettable that the two leaders, who met for the first time 260 days earlier, were unable to reach a concrete agreement as they had eagerly expected to make a breakthrough on the issues of denuclearization and peace on the Korean Peninsula.

 

Differences between the US and North Korea lead to the failure in reaching a final agreement, but that does not mean this should be a time for pessimism. We should not discount the importance of the meeting of these leaders, who technically are still in a state of war with each other, as such encounters increase their understanding of the other side and create a relationship beyond simple hostility. 

 

While the official position of DPRK on the outcome of the summit has not been confirmed, President Trump made it clear that it was ‘a constructive meeting’ that made progress on important discussions, albeit that it failed to lead to an agreement. The US agreed that negotiations will continue and it will not take actions to aggravate the situation. Therefore, the talks should not be hastily labeled as a failure.

 

It is difficult for the two countries, which have been enemies for nearly 70 years, to normalize relations within such a short period of time. The second DPRK-US Korea summit confirmed once again that building a peace regime and denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula cannot take place overnight. Most of all, it is clear that dialogue and negotiation is of utmost importance in the current situation. 

 

Military hostilities have ceased as a result of last year’s inter-Korean and DPRK-US summits, and the Korean Peninsula is enjoying a period of relative peace not seen since the time of the Armistice Agreement. Further effort and patience is needed to continue negotiations between DPRK-US and reap the fruits of a peace regime on the Korean Peninsula. The efforts of both DPRK and US, as well as strong support from the citizens of neighboring countries and around the world, are urgently needed. Among these is the role of ROK civil society, where Korean NGOs will make every effort to promote peace on the Korean Peninsula.

 

People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy 

 

>> Korean Version

 

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