Korea is the only divided country in the world. Korea’s division began with its emancipation from Japanese occupation. After emancipation, South Korea wanted to have a democratic system, but North Korea wanted to be a state governed by communism. Due to these problems, the South-North conflict got bigger and the 6·25 War started. The South and the North concluded a ceasefire agreement after 3 years of war and this state is still maintained these days. University students have to pay attention to the problem of the division of the South and North, so the Pharos will introduce some important information regarding changes that have occurred in the South-North situation so far.

  North Korea announced its possession of nuclear weapons in February 2005, and has persistently threatened not only South Korea but also the whole world as it pushed ahead with nuclear tests until 2017. The Lee Myung-bak government adhered to the “3000 Initiative of Denuclearization,” a North Korea policy that was different from that of previous governments, and it make the South-North relationship worse. Also, the North fired shells that hit Yeonpyeong Island in 2010, as a protest against the United National Defense Training Exercise of the ROK army and U.S. forces in Korea. Thereafter, resistance to North Korea grew stronger, with the formation of the Park Geun-hye government. Park’s government introduced a hostile policy toward North Korea. This incurred the North’s opposition and South Korean workers withdrew from the Gaeseong Industrial Complex, after provocation was made breaking the armistice agreement. After that, a mood of reconciliation was created and bilateral activities were staged, including the South’s athletes participating in the 2014 Pyongyang World Weightlifting Championships and the holdings of a separated families’ reunion event. However, the Koreas’ relationship deteriorated again when the second high-level South-North contact meeting was canceled.

 The South-North relationship has not always been bad. Kim Dae-jung, when he was president, changed the hard-line policy toward North Korea to a “sunshine” policy that emphasized cooperation and reconciliation. Also, in March 2000, he presented the “Berlin Agreement,” which wished for the peaceful reunification of the Korean peninsula, and later that year in June, the first summit conference since the division of the peninsula was held. At this conference, the “June 15 South-North Joint Statement” was issued, and after this conference, a separated families’ reunion event and the first Mt. Kumgang tour were held. In 2007, the South and North met again. At this conference, the “October 4 Joint Declaration” was adopted. This declaration included plans for a three or four way summit on the Korean Peninsula to resolve the nuclear issue (clause 8), and led to in November of the same year South-North ministerial talks, which were held in Seoul, and in December, the opening of a rail link to the Gaeseong Industrial Complex. This year, two summits have been held. At one conference, “The Panmunjeom Declaration for Peace, Progress and Unification on the Korean Peninsula,” which included plans for the complete denuclearization of the Korean peninsula and a declaration of the end of the war in 2018, was announced. The South and North took a hopeful step toward reunification in their meeting that occurred out of the blue in May.

 The South and the North have experienced the painful reality of not being able to meet in spite of having the same blood and of maintaining hostile relations because of 65 years of being divided. However, recently a peaceful mood has flourished; for example, this year two summits were held, and the North declared its support for complete denuclearization at the North Korean-American summit. The South-North relationship is a very important thing for our future. Therefore, we hope that university students who will lead in the future will pay attention to the South-North relationship.