In the space of two years, the atmosphere on the Korean Peninsula has gone from conflict and the threat of war... to cooperation and negotiations aimed at forging a lasting peace.
South Korea and the United States have been key players in the remarkable turnaround... and the leaders of the allies are set to meet this week in Washington.
With the big meeting happening in the coming days,... our Kan Hyeong-woo highlights what's being dubbed "the road to peace."
Peacemaking efforts began in June 2017 at the first summit between Presidents Moon and Trump in Washington.
They vowed to shore up their strong alliance and called on North Korea to join them at the table for denuclearization talks.
Moon and Trump met again in November 2017 in Seoul about two months after North Korea conducted its sixth nuclear test.
While criticizing the regime's test,... the two leaders reaffirmed their willingness to resolve the North's nuclear programs through peace in principle,... offering Kim Jong-un a brighter future, should he choose the right path.
The atmosphere on the Peninsula turned around after the two Koreas marched together at the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics under the Korean Unification flag,... eventually leading to the first Moon-Kim summit in April 2018.
Moon and Kim declared Seoul and Pyeongyang would ease military tensions and work together to achieve the denuclearization of the Peninsula.
After North Korea invited international journalists to view the dismantlement of its Punggye-ri nuclear test site,... the first ever meeting between a North Korean leader and a sitting U.S. President took place at the Kim-Trump Singapore Summit in June 2018.
In a joint statement, the two leaders agreed to the denuclearization of the Peninsula, new peaceful relations and security guarantees for the regime.
Later that year,... President Moon visited Pyeongyang for a third summit with Chairman Kim in September.
Titled 'Peace, A New Future', the summit resulted in a comprehensive inter-Korean military agreement, promises for inter-Korean cooperation and conditions to denuclearize the North.
After the two Koreas and the United States did not see much progress in denuclearization talks for the rest of 2018,... Kim and Trump held their second summit in Hanoi in February 2019 only to confirm their differences,... failing to leave Vietnam with a deal.
Kan Hyeong-woo, Arirang News.