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Dialogue between the two Koreas

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January 06, 2018

Why in news?

Despite multiple challenges, resumption of dialogue between the North and South Koreas has reignited hopes of a possible ease in tensions.

What drove the talks?

  • North Korea’s latest ballistic missile launches and nuclear explosions have raised global alarm over the region’s safety for travel and tourism.
  • South Korea wants to reduce tensions immediately, to ensure the safe conduct of the approaching winter Olympic Games that it is hosting next month.
  • Hence, Seoul sees the confirmation of North Korean participation in the games and parallel peace talks as vital for the successful conduct of the games.
  • Simultaneously, North eyes an opportunity to get de-facto recognition as a nuclear state, which is a vantage point for negotiating for lifting sanctions.
  • Hence, talks between Seoul and Pyongyang has resumed after two years.

What were some significant compromises?

  • South Korean President Mr.Moon, has been a staunch advocate of a negotiated resolution of the North Korean nuclear stand-off.
  • On that note, the U.S. and South Korea had agreed for delaying their joint military exercises in exchange for a freeze in North Korea’s nuclear program.  
  • Notably, the joint military exercise was an irritant for both Pyongyang and Beijing, as both saw them as interference in their backyard.
  • China even imposed an unofficial blockade on South Korean trade and tourism for a while after the installation of US’s THAAD missiles in its territory.
  • While denuclearisation on the Peninsula is still far off, as talks have resumed after two years, it has created considerable hope.

 

Source: The Hindu

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