N. Korea-U.S. Peace Treaty Possible

President George W. Bush revealed that he would sign an agreement to announce the end of Korean War with President Roh Moo-hyun and Kim Jong Il. This “provisional peace agreement” is attracting attention.

As there are many problems to solve and it takes a lot of time in order to achieve peace from war, the U.S. considers a provisional peace agreement as a way to deal with the process effectively.

It is estimated that the U.S. will ensure the end of war by a document containing official signatures of three nations, which is an actual peace agreement, and that it is preparing to make a peace agreement by observing changes in North Korea’s attitude and of the relationship between North Korea and the U.S.

North Korea, which has constantly requested the U.S. to establish legal and institutional systems for peace, is not objecting to America’s “provisional peace agreement,” which could be the transition to peace and amity between North Korea and the U.S.

There are a sizable amount of problems aside from nuclear weapons, such as counterfeiting and drugs, human rights, ballistic missiles, and biochemical weapons, which prevent amity between the two countries right away. Considering this fact, it seems prudent to eliminate the hostile relationship between North Korea and the U.S.

As a matter of fact, North Korea suggested a provisional agreement in 1998. It contained several specific provisions that North Korea and the U.S. could establish liaison offices respectively in Pyongyang and Washington before entering into formal diplomatic relations, and that they could replace the Military Armistice Commission, which was in charge of an agreement on peace, with “a commission of cooperative security between South Korea, North Korea, and the U.S.”

There is a disputable issue over whether the U.S. Armed Forces in Korea will stay. Cho Seong-ryeol from the Research Institute for International Affairs said, “North Korea does not oppose the U.S. Army’s stay in Korea in the transitional period if the U.S. plays a role of ‘honest broker.’ The U.S. Army in Korea will become a kind of peacekeeping force.”

The problem is China, which seems to be excluded from this agreement. China has claimed that it cannot be left out.

taewon_ha@donga.com