I am neither a prophet nor a fortune teller in international relations. Nonetheless, I just cannot but feel something ominous about the future of Northeast Asia. Has the U.S.-North Korea summit on June 12 in Singapore reinforced stability on the Korean Peninsula or undermined it?
The stability I am talking about is the one created by the Korean War armistice agreement signed on July 27, 1953. The historic document was signed 65 years ago by the commanders representing the United Nations Command Korea, the North Korean People's Army and the Chinese People's Volunteer Army.
The framework that I call the "Regime of 1953" has greatly contributed to peace and stability not only on the Korean Peninsula but also in Northeast Asia as a whole. Without the armistice, there would have been no postwar economic recovery in Japan, no miracle on the Han River in South Korea and, of course, no open-door policy in China.