The two Koreas are still technically at war... with an armistice agreement... NOT a peace treaty... signed 65 years ago.<br />However,... there are now efforts to get over that last hurdle.<br />Talks related to striking what would be a historic deal... are certain to continue during the upcoming inter-Korean summit. <br /> Choi Si-young reports.<br /> <br /> Will the third inter-Korean summit provide the momentum to formally end the 7-decade-long Korean War?<br />At the first summit in April, Seoul and Pyeongyang agreed to declare it over this year.<br />But Pyeongyang and Washington can't seem to agree on what has to be done first for that to happen.<br /><br /> Pyeongyang demands that they end the war right away, but Washington insists that North Korea hand over a list of all its nuclear-related materials first.<br />South Korea's special envoys, who visited North Korea last week, suggested working simultaneously toward the end-of-war declaration and the nuclear list. <br /><br /> Kim Jong-un is known to have said he's willing to work more proactively if the two can go simultaneously but laid out no new measures for denuclearizing.<br />Kim also said declaring an end to the Korean War would neither weaken the S. Korea-U.S. alliance nor require the withdrawal of American troops from South Korea.<br /><br /> "At the moment, what Kim Jong-un has described is a trust-building gesture to assure the U.S. that the declaration won't have a negative impact on the South Korea-U.S. alliance."<br /><br /> South Korean President Moon Jae-in said that the declaration would only be a political affirmation that hostilities between the two Koreas are over.<br /><br /> "The peace declaration could bring about North Korea's denuclearization, a new phase in inter-Korean relations and a more peaceful Korean Peninsula."<br /><br /> The key would be whether the two Koreas can find a middle ground in their nuclear negotiations at the summit next week.<br /> That result will be shared by Presidents Moon and Trump at their summit to be held on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly,... which could kick-start the three countries' move towards ending the Korean War later this year.<br />Choi Si-young, Arirang News. <br />
