North and South Korean leaders held a historic summit agreeing to end the Korean war
On 27 April, the leaders of North Korea and South Korea met for the first time in over a decade.
"North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korea's President Moon Jae-in met at the line that separates the divided Koreas. Kim then stepped over the raised Military Demarcation Line, entering territory controlled by the South for the very first time."
Since 1950 both countries are divided by a Korean Demilitarised Zone, called DMZ. This DMZ is a buffer zone between two very different states. The two East Asian countries were separated after World War II along the 38th parallel.
During the summit, both leaders attended also a tree planting ceremony and signed a Declaration for Peace, Prosperity and Unification on the Korean Peninsula.
North Korea and South Korea recognises that the Korean island shall be nuclear free and announced that they would formally end the 68-year old Korean war.
The Korean war started in 1950 when the North Korean army invaded the South. Although an armistice was signed in 1953, the war was not officially declared as having ended. No peace treaty had been signed since then.
An armistice is an agreement between two or more parties to stop fighting.
South Korea is very westernised and highly industrialised and ranks among the most innovative countries in the world in regards to science and technology. South Korean people enjoy a high standard of living while North Koreans suffer poverty and malnutrition. About 25 million people live in North Korea, which is officially called Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). North Korea has only half the population of South Korea although it is similar in size. The DPRK has the fourth largest army in the world and possesses nuclear weapons.
source: CNN
image: Korean Summit Press/Reuters