September 27, 2023
Analysis

How the two Koreas went from Pyongyang summitry to missile tests and acrimony

One year since a landmark meeting in the DPRK capital, little progress appears to have been made

A year ago this week, South Korean President Moon Jae-in stood in front of 150,000 North Koreans at Pyongyang's May Day Stadium and claimed that a “new era of peace” had arrived on the peninsula.

The leaders of the two Koreas had that week signed the promising Pyongyang Joint Declaration, with top military officials also agreeing to an ambitious military deal -- a deal Seoul described at the time as a "de facto" non-aggression pact.