April 19, 2018

South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Thursday expressed his support for the North’s long-time demand to sign a full-fledged peace treaty instead of the Korean Armistice Agreement concluded in 1953 after the end of the Korean war.

“We should put an end to the armistice that has lasted for 65 years and move toward signing a peace treaty trough the declaration of the end of war,’’ Moon told newsmen.

The president noted that the upcoming inter-Korean summit was a “dramatic change.”

“Through the inter-Korean summit, we must create a milestone in the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula, establish permanent peace and develop sustainable inter-Korean relations.

“It should also prompt the success of the North Korea-U.S. summit,’’ Moon said.

On March 5 and March 6, South Korea’s high-ranking delegation visited North Korea.

Upon the delegation’s return, the South Korean presidential office announced that Seoul and Pyongyang had reached a historic agreement on holding the third ever summit of the countries’ leaders.

The meeting between Moon and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is scheduled for April 27, and it will be followed by U.S. Donald Trump’s meeting with Kim, expected to take place at the end of May.

South and North Korea remain legally at war, as no peace treaty was signed after the Korean War of 1950 to 1953.

The 1953 Korean Armistice Agreement provided for a suspension of open hostilities and a fixed demarcation line with a buffer zone.

North Korea has repeatedly announced that it would no longer abide by the armistice and called for replacing it with a peace treaty, stressing that the 1953 agreement was meant to be a transitional measure.

However, tensions on the peninsula, as well as the North’s hesitation to take steps toward denuclearisation have curbed the talks on the issue.