South Korea's call for a declaration to end the 1950-53 Korean War as a means to restore peace was rejected by North Korea, which said Friday that such a move might be used as a "smokescreen" to hide the U.S. hostile policy against the North.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (L) and South Korean President Moon Jae-in (R) shake hands after announcing the Panmunjom Declaration for Peace, Prosperity and Unification of the Korean Peninsula during the Inter-Korean Summit in front of the Peace House
South Korean President Calls For the End-of-the-War During U.N. General Assembly
In a recently published article in MSN News, South Korean President Moon Jae-in repeated his calls for an end-of-war declaration in an address to the United Nations General Assembly earlier this week, saying that it might assist in accomplishing denuclearization and long-term peace the Korean Peninsula.
He thinks that if the parties to the Korean Conflict get together and declare the war over, they would be able to make irreversible progress toward denuclearization and usher in an age of total peace. Moon also told the United Nations in New York, in his last address as president of South Korea to the General Assembly before his five-year term ends in May.
Moon has made similar suggestions in previous UN addresses. In his 2018 address to the 193-member General Assembly, he stated he hopes to see "strong steps for denuclearization" adopted among the nations involved, culminating in a declaration to end the conflicts, according to a published article in Korea Joong Ang Daily.
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North Korea Dismissed the Call To End War
According to North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Ri Thae Song, Moon's appeal is premature as long as US policies remain unaltered. He said that it should be recognized that declaring the war to be ended would not assist in stabilizing the Korean Peninsula at this time but will instead be utilized as a smokescreen to hide the US hostile stance.
He said that American weaponry and soldiers stationed in South Korea and its environs and frequent military exercises in the area testify to the United States' hostile stance against North Korea becoming more savage by the day. North Korea has long seen US-led economic restrictions as evidence of US animosity against the country, according to a report published in Associated Press.
Meanwhile, Moon's address made no mention of North Korea's latest missile provocations. North Korea defied UN Security Council resolutions by firing two short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea last week. Earlier this month, it also conducted a test of new long-range cruise missiles.
South and North Korea Almost End their War in the Previous Years
The Korean War came to a close with an armistice rather than a peace treaty, keeping the peninsula technically at war. North Korea has insisted on signing a peace treaty with the US to officially end the war and pave the way for better ties, sanctions easing, and the reduction or removal of the 28,500 US soldiers stationed in South Korea.
During negotiations with the US that started in 2018, both Koreas had asked for an end-of-war proclamation, and there was speculation that then-President Donald Trump would declare the war's conclusion in early 2019 to persuade North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to commit to denuclearization.
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