
North and South Korea reportedly set to announce official end to war - artsandsci
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/04/17/north-and-south-korea-reportedly-set-to-announce-official-end-to-war.html
======
berberous
This appears to be very thinly sourced, specifically: "Newspaper Munhwa Ilbo
cited an unnamed South Korean intelligence source".

I don't know how reliable that newspaper is, but the fact that it's an unnamed
intelligence source as well makes me skeptical.

Hopefully it's true though.

~~~
abhiminator
Here's a New York Times article on the subject:
[https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/17/world/asia/kim-jong-un-
no...](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/17/world/asia/kim-jong-un-north-korea-
talks.html) \-- it appears a "high-ranking Official" from the South was the
source behind the article.

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tshibley
It will be fascinating to watch the modernization of North Korea if we end up
heading in that direction. I'm particularity interested to see if it is
possible for a leader/party with a brutal a reputation as that of Kim Jong Un
to retain power as the country opens up (although to be fair we are a _long_
way from any real change).

~~~
adventured
Interestingly, Kim Jong Un can easily make the argument in hindsight that he
inherited the brutal system and then set about to change it for the better
(and that it would take time). That first they had to secure nuclear weapon
delivery capability to ensure their security; once that was accomplished, they
could then negotiate peace on a more level playing field, from a position of
strength, with the US. If they want to spin it, that's an easy way to go. Kim
Jong Un becomes the benevolent dictator that brought a Vietnam-style boom to
North Korea (I reference Vietnam, because it wasn't very long ago that their
Communist regime was still very closed and brutally repressive, more like a
pre Deng Xiaoping China).

~~~
IAmEveryone
He could make that argument, but he'd be laughed at all the way to De Hague.

He always had the option of just laying down the weapons, opening the border
to the South and letting others make the decision from now on. It's not like
South Korea are actually their enemy in want-to-kill-them terms.

~~~
verelo
I'm super ignorant on the topic, but when i try imagine being in his shoes for
a moment...the concept of doing exactly what you're proposing feels like it
might result in some kind of uprising or assassination from within the
leadership ranks.

Given the state of the country for the last ~70 years, the last 24 months has
seen what looks like massive progress. Perhaps he has different goals and is
going through a fairly methodical process of getting popular opinion on his
side before moving forward on what he really wants?

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Eurongreyjoy
I'm curious as to why the motivation now? The West has been placing sanction
on North Korea for years with seemingly no effect.

I wonder what role, if any China played in brokering this deal? This is only a
report of what is expected to happen at the summit, so we will see if Kim Jong
Un will follow through, since his military presence and proximity to South
Korea and Seoul has been his best bartering chip.

~~~
ianhawes
Donald J. Trump.

I would imagine this is not a popular opinion here, but he had the entire
world convinced he would use nuclear weapons against North Korea. That has to
have some effect on the North Korean regime.

~~~
maxxxxx
I think he did the right thing by offering a meeting with Kim Jon Un. And he
was the only one able to do it. If Obama had done this the Republicans would
have thrown a total fit.

~~~
swebs
>If Obama had done this the Republicans would have thrown a total fit.

Let's please not turn this thread into /r/politics

~~~
maxxxxx
I think I stated an obvious fact.

~~~
sho
That category of statement cannot be a fact; it's your opinion. It might be
true, it might even be obviously true, but it's not a "fact".

~~~
maxxxxx
What do you think would have happened if Obama had offered talks with North
Korea?

~~~
sho
That is not my point. My point is that statements that rely on judgement and
include phrases like "I think..." or "you think..." have nothing to do with
_facts_.

Consult a dictionary if confusion persists.

~~~
maxxxxx
How about "based on my observation of politics over the last few years I
believe that if Obama had offered talks with North Korea he would have faced
strong opposition from Republican politician in Congress.". Better?

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quantumwoke
Heck, I would hate to be the person to have to clean up the 1 million+
landmines on the border [0].

[0] [https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/3362127/north-korea-
landmines-...](https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/3362127/north-korea-landmines-
border-south-land-invasion/)

~~~
HenryBemis
I can think of a few companies that will be glad to take on this contract (and
it's most likely the same companies that made these mines).

But, this (if it plays out) is something good for Humanity.

~~~
quantumwoke
I just hope it won't end up like in Cambodia, which has had something like
O(10^5) deaths/amputees over the years. Of course, this would be more of a
problem for North Korea, which presumably has not properly informed its
citizens of the danger. It will probably take many years because of how
isolated North Korea is likely to remain.

~~~
jandrese
The good thing about Korea is that those mines are largely concentrated in a
narrow strip of land. You can clear out some roads, keep the existing fences
around the rest, and mostly avoid the Cambodia situation.

~~~
GotAnyMegadeth
In case any passers by don't know about an extra factor that makes Cambodia
even worse: lots of the country floods annually. This means that you can clear
an area of landmines, but then when the floods come it can wash in landmines
from other areas into the areas you thought were clear. It's very sad :-(

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bloak
Presumably this would be purely symbolic.

It is ironic that North Korea and South Korea have been officially at war
since 1950, while there are have been thousands of military conflicts in the
world since then without a war being officially declared. Let's hope the end
of the official war between the Koreas isn't a prelude to actual military
conflict...

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Tomminn
This is bizarre if true and is followed up by NK removing all those artillery
pointed at Seoul. It puts them in a very precarious state. The only remaining
bulwark against US invasion would be upsetting China.

The other obvious one is the nuclear threat. But the nuclear threat to the US
mainland has to be negligible at this stage, and is, if anything, an incentive
to invade asap before their nuclear threat becomes reliable. I think without
the decimation of Seoul on the table, many generals will be licking their lips
at this.

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reverend_gonzo
I highly recommend reading Nothing To Envy by Barbara Dendrick, which is about
six people who escaped from North Korea.

It was a very interesting, though sad, book, as was the AMA she did on Reddit
a few years ago.

It would be great to see those borders open up (legally) and let and modern
amenities flow into that country.

~~~
darrenf
It's Barbara Demick (a search for Barbara Dendrick does not bring up the
correct alternative, at least for me).

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hyperpallium
Have they been set to announce this before?

People were reluctant to get excited over recent peace talks, because they had
led nowhere before. Is there anything new about this development?

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kushti
This is a good movement,and lets hope that sanctions on the people enforced by
authoritarian psychopathic Western regimes will be lifted up. The only known
way (historically) to liberalization is through making people richer through
trade,not enforcing them to be alone with poverty and populists.

~~~
AnimalMuppet
North Korea is directly part of the topic at hand, and yet you single out
_Western_ regimes as being authoritarian and psychopathic? That's quite a
moral inversion.

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dogruck
If this news comes to fruition, then this is a major win for Donald Trump’s
administration. It’s conceivable that he will win the Nobel Peace Prize.

~~~
titanix2
If the peace is signed he merits it more than the former US president that got
it for other things than his actions. But I don't think this prize is given on
merit only, so it's unlikely to happen in my opinion.

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thowawayburnout
Like him or not. This is a very massive win for the Trump administration. Even
if he played 0 role, most people think he did.

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liberte82
I think this is probably all a ruse, a game to King Jong Un. Trump gives us a
first hand look at how dictator-wannabes think and act - it's always with
ambiguity, never certainty, to keep people guessing, confused and divided.
This is like Trump announcing sanctions on Russia while simultaneously
refusing to enforce them.

Watch King Jong Un's _actions_ , not his words.

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jmhuret
"You're Welcome" \- Dennis Rodman

