The scene is changing in Korea and the until-now antagonistic attitude appears to have made way for a possible return of peace to the region. The two sides have drawn up plans to hold high-level talks to prepare the groundwork for a summit in April. It will be between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in. Its purpose would be to improve relations and resolve the standoff over the nuclear program of the North.
New Zealand Herald reports that there will be a cultural exchange on the occasion. Artists of South Korea will hold a concert in Pyongyang featuring their most popular pop singers.
The girl band Red Velvet will be a part of the troupe. Subsequently, there will be a combined performance along with artists of North Korea.
Reunification of Korea
Ever since Moon Jae-in took over the reins of South Korea, he has wanted to end the conflict with his neighbor and unite the two Koreas. Kim Jong-un extended an olive branch by reopening the hotline and followed it up by sending his team to participate in the 2018 Winter Olympics. The two Koreas walked under a common flag. That has set the stage for a probable summit meeting between the leaders of the United States and North Korea to denuclearize the Korean peninsula.
An advance meeting is on the anvil. It is proposed to be held at the border village of Panmunjom by reps of Pyongyang and Seoul in the first week of April.
They will chalk out plans for the Trump-Kim summit scheduled for the end of May. This will be the third round of talks for the leaders of the North and the South since the 1950-53 Korean War.
The peace initiative
North Korea has continued to pursue its nuclear ambitions in spite of sanctions imposed by the global community. It has developed ICBMs that could target the US mainland and displayed a few samples.
It also identified a few targets that led to fears of a possible confrontation with nuclear weapons. If that did happen, South Korea would be in the direct line of fire and the U.S. positioned its warships in the region to assure its ally.
All eyes are now on the Trump-Kim summit which will provide an opportunity to bring peace to the Korean peninsula.
A nuclear war is certainly not a solution because it will devastate the world and recovery would take decades. Both the leaders are unpredictable and have engaged in extreme verbal exchanges in the past. They must now set aside their differences and try to arrive at a peaceful solution.
