In May 2020, Kim said he wanted to pursue a “new policy” and met with the Workers` Party`s Central Military Commission and discussed strengthening North Korea`s nuclear deterrent. The extension of conventional artillery has also been discussed. [102] On 5 June 2020, North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Son-gwon said the prospects for peace between North and South Korea and the United States had “disappeared into a dark nightmare.” He noted that the North`s efforts after the meeting with Mr. Trump focused instead on the build-up of a “more reliable force to deal with long-term military threats from the United States.” On June 13, Kim Yo-jong, Kim Jong-un`s sister, warned that a tragic scene from the North-South useless liaison office would soon collapse completely. On 16 June, the North threatened to return troops withdrawn from the border to posts where they were previously stationed. Later that day, the Kaesong Liaison Office was destroyed by the North Korean government. Due to the COVID 19 pandemic, the South Korean delegation had left the building in January. [103] The legal basis for the U.S.-ROK alliance is the 1953 Mutual Defence Treaty. A peace agreement between the United States and North Korea has no legal impact on the mutual defence treaty, which can only be terminated if both sides choose to do so. Ultimately, the question of whether or not U.S. troops should remain in South Korea should be decided by the South Korean people.
There are ongoing mediations with the two Koreas, the United States and China on the formal end of the Korean War. Although North and South Korea prefer to declare an end to the war first, China supports a legally binding peace treaty for all parties. The United States supports a bilateral declaration with North Korea pending Chinese concerns about the presence of U.S. Korean forces (USFK). [6] Russian President Vladimir Putin, who confirmed the peace agreement with Japan at the end of World War II, said north Korea`s nuclear issue must be resolved “politically and diplomatically.” [7] The Russian Foreign Ministry approved Panmuny`s statement. [8] Putin proposed that Trump halt joint U.S.-South Korea military exercises during a diplomatic meeting in Germany in 2017, and Trump agreed to suspend “war games” with South Korea at the Trump-Kim summit in 2018. [9] The British government has advised that it should travel to North Korea with caution from 21 December 2018.