Ultimately, South Korea’s engagement strategy comes down to the realities of the Korean Peninsula. Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un met on June 12, 2018, in Singapore. The meeting, which was highly anticipated, finally happened after many ups and downs.
Moon Jae-In, the South Korean President, is known for his diplomacy of engagement. Earlier, the efforts put forth by the South to engage diplomatically with the North didn’t prove very effective due to the North’s heavy engagement in a nuclear program. But the rapprochement began in January when the two countries marched together under one flag in the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang.
It was after the Winter Olympics that Kim opened the doors for diplomatic talks with other nations. The North Korean leader, in an unprecedented move, went to Beijing. It was his first visit to another country since he came to power in 2011. It was during this visit that he hinted at denuclearising the Korean peninsula.
The meeting between Xi Jinping and Kim Jong-un had also sent a signal that Kim was ready to talk to the US. Later on, Trump tweeted that both he and Kim will meet to settle the dispute between both the nations.
Then a concert was organised in North Korea in which a famous South Korean band performed and the concert was attended by Kim and several other officials. The event was another step taken by South Korea to ease the tension and improve ties and also a step towards maintaining peace in the Korean peninsula.