Roundtable discussion on Recent Developments in the Korean Peninsula

 

Speakers: Ambassador Rakesh Sood, Distinguished Fellow, ORF & Former Diplomat; and Ambassador Vishnu Prakash, Former Ambassador to South Korea

 

 

 

Chair: Ambassador Ashok. K. Kantha, Director, ICS

 

 

 

Extraordinary developments at an unprecedented pace are taking place in the Korean Peninsula (KP), that have left the observers gasping. In a span of mere three months the protagonists have gone from hurling abuses and threats to talking peace and dialogue. The sister of Kim Jong-un (KJU), visited South Korea, becoming the first ever member of the Kim clan to do so. KJU travelled to Beijing, leaving the hermit kingdom for the first time since coming to power in 2011, for his maiden meeting with Xi Jinping. He is scheduled to meet his southern counterpart on 27 April, at the Peace Village on the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). And upon receiving KJU’s message promising denuclearization, President Trump has agreed unconditionally to meet him in late May. Yet, it is proving difficult to shake-off a sense of déjà vu. North Korea trusts no one and least of all the US. It sees Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) as an insurance for survival of the regime. Trump meanwhile is stacking his team with hawks who want to see the end of Kim dynasty. The coming weeks promise riveting political theater, the likes of which have rarely been seen in recent times.

 

 

 

(Collaboration: Institute of Chinese Studies)