On April 27, 2018, the two leaders of the divided Korean Peninsula, leaders Kim Jong Un and Mun Jae In, met to discuss terms of peace, nuclear disarmament, and perhaps even reunification after many years of separation.

The Korean Peninsula has been divided since the end of the Korean War on July 27, 1953. South Korea adopted a democratic republic resembling the United States while North Korea turned to a communist government. Throughout the years, the agendas of North Korea seemed to conflict with the United States most notably regarding nuclear disarmament.

However, to the surprise of the world, the two Korean leaders seemed to have agreed to pursue peace. North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un, stepped over the line dividing the two Koreas and recently entered South Korean territory for the first time. The two leaders then planted a symbolic tree from 1953, the year the Korean armistice was signed. The two leaders then proceeded to sign the Korean Declaration for Peace, Prosperity, and Unification on the Korean Peninsula which, according to CNN, “…commits the two countries to a nuclear-free peninsula and talks to bring a formal end to the Korean War.”

The Korean nation has been divided for many years bringing pain and sorrow to both countries alike. Now, the world watches as a chance for peace in the torn peninsula seems to be within arms reach.