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65년 유예된 평화… 종전을 구상하다 - 이장희 교수 대담 Joining me now in the studio to talk more about the Korean War armistice agreement is Dr. Lee Jang-hie from the Hanuk University of Foreign Studies. Thank you for coming in today. My pleasure. 1 - Today marks the 65 anniversary of the Korean War Armistice Agreement, but this year perhaps there's a bit more of a special meaning, as there there is currently so much talk about a possible agreement among the relevant nations to formally end to the war. But before we get to that point, can you briefly tell our viewers what this day means for us here in Korea? 2 - An armistice agreement is of course different from a peace treaty. Can you explain what the difference is, and how two nations would go from an armistice to a peace treaty? 3 - The two Koreas have tried to reach an agreement to end the Korean War in the past. In 2007, then then leaders of the two Koreas Roh Moo-hyun and Kim Jong-il pledged to end the armistice after their summit. How come it never came about? 4 - Today, there was also another special event that was arranged to coincide with the armistice, and that was North Korea's return of the remains of U.S. soldiers that were killed in Korean War. It took longer than we initially expected to get here, but it has been completed, and without monetary compensation to the North like in the past. That's of course great news, but what do think comes next? North Korea will use this to further leverage ending the armistice, but the U.S. has been reluctant to do so. Do you think North Korea will push for it further now? 5 - South Korea and North Korea have been pushing to end the armistice, and China have said they are ready to get involved if necessary. What steps will need to be taken to formally declare the end of the Korean War? 6 - If the end of the Korean War is declared, and a peace treaty is signed, what happends next? What will it mean for the two Koreas? 7 - It's been revealed that South Korea's Unification Minsiter, Cho Myoung-gyon held a phone call with the U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo the other day. That is unusual, because Pompeo's direct counterpart is South Korea's foreign minister Kang Kyung-wha. Seoul said they just talked about denuclearization of North Korea and the progress in inter-Korean relations, but many suspect the ending of the war was also discussed, as well as some issues about sanctions. What do you make of this development?