President-elect Dwight D. Eisenhower visited South Korea in December 1952 during the Korean War. The Korean Armistice Agreement on July 27, 1953 halted hostilities and established a 2.5-mile buffer zone between the two Koreas. Subsequent decades remained tense as North Korea continued to threaten and provoke South Korea. South Korea developed into a liberal democracy and now ranks as the thirteenth largest economy. The upcoming summit between President Trump and newly elected President Lee Jae Myung presents an opportunity for Lee to brief Trump on South Korea's economic and geopolitical vision, following recent resolution of tariff issues with the U.S.
Mr. Eisenhower was determined to bring an end to the Korean War, that took the lives of tens of thousands of U.S. and South Korean military personnel and civilians. On July 27, 1953, the Korean Armistice Agreement was signed, halting the fighting, although the war continues till this day. The result was a 2.5-mile buffer zone, separating the two Koreas. The decades that followed the Korean War were tense, with a belligerent North Korea continuing to threaten and provoke South Korea.
The summit of these two recently elected presidents is timely. During the past seven months, Mr. Trump has shown the world that he is a proactive peacemaker, determined to help resolve conflicts afflicting a growing number of countries. We saw this with Pakistan and India, with Armenia and Azerbaijan, with Thailand and Cambodia and with the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda, and with Serbia and Kosovo and Egypt and Ethiopia.
Collection
[
|
...
]