Peninsula tightrope both taut and fraught

Updating plans

Early last month, during their 53rd Security Consultative Meeting in Seoul, defense chiefs of the ROK and the US agreed to update war plans against Pyongyang.

The announcement revealed that the US is unwilling to promote the signing of the end-of-war declaration because it utterly opposes the peaceful spirit it conveys, said Cao Shigong, a researcher with the Chinese Association of Asia-Pacific Studies.

If the US cannot get rid of its self-centered policy and long-standing tradition of hegemony, the declaration could end up with nothing, Cao said in an opinion piece published online.

Looking forward, Li said there is a long way to go and the negotiation of the declaration should also include the DPRK and China.

"The end-of-war declaration is the first step in establishing the peace mechanism on the Korean Peninsula and involves the normalization of US-DPRK relations and the denuclearization of the Peninsula. It should be more than symbolic."