VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The tension between the two countries on the Korean Peninsula continues. Instead of trying  to find further way out towards peace, South Korea has recently seemed to trigger new tensions in their  relations. Meanwhile North Korea remains on the defensive.

New tensions have arisen over the resumption of joint South Korean military exercises with the United States which   had taken place before, but was stopped due to the Corona pandemic. After the pandemic in South Korea subsided, the joint exercise initiative was resumed on Tuesday, August 18. Washingon said this would last until August 28. Pyong Yang, on the other hand, considered that the military exercise would further  spark hostilities between South Korea, the United States and  North Korea.

Tensions between the two Koreas had previously escalated because North Korea had torn down  the liaison office between North and South Korea on the border in June. Even then, Pyong Yang threatened to take new actions. According to Pyong Yang, North Korea's move was triggered by South Korea's actions which considered provocative. Namely launching a hot air balloon containing books and leaflets at the border which then crashed into North Korean territory.

The international community had previously seen renewed hope that the two Koreas would move toward peace. The momentum for peace is when Kim Jong-Un and Donald Trump held talks in Singapore and Hanoi, Vietnam. However, both North Korea, South Korea and the United States lost momentum tread towards reconciliation due to the frozen negotiations, and there was no further initiative from either side. The North Korean president had initially been cooperative in the dialogue. But recently, Pyong Yang turned to blame Seoul for not taking the initiative to persuade Washington to loosen sanctions on North Korea. The issue in the talks, namely North Korea's nuclear disarmament and easing of sanctions, has finally faded again.

The participation of third countries in every conflict can indeed become an intermediary to produce a solution. But it can also be the other way around, worsening the situation. Especially when the third country plays a role because it has its own interests. It feels like that is happening in the conflict between the two countries on the Korean Peninsula, which is actually one nation.