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North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (left) and US President Donald Trump engage in some small talk before commencing the Singapore summit on June 12. (Yonhap News)

The one-month anniversary of the North Korea-US summit in Singapore on June 12 is focusing attention on whether Seoul, Pyongyang, and Washington will be taking part in a joint declaration of the Korean War’s end by the end of the year.

Speaking on July 12, a Blue House senior official hinted at efforts toward a declaration within 2018.

“There is something of an agreement among South and North Korea and the US on making a declaration of the war’s end,” the official said.

While a declaration would not have effective force in terms of international law, it is seen as a measure to ensure North Korea’s regime security in the process toward denuclearization – a kind of point of entry toward a peace regime on the Korean Peninsula.

In their Apr. 27 Panmunjeom Declaration, the South and North Korean leaders agreed to hold talks toward a declaration ending the war within the year; in a press conference following the North Korea-US summit, US President Donald Trump said he and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un had discussed the issue of ending the Korean War. Some had speculated a declaration might be made at Panmunjeom for the anniversary of the current armistice agreement’s signing on July 27. But no further progress has been made in discussions, with the US raising the declaration issue as a “tradeoff” for North Korean denuclearization in the subsequent bilateral talks.

In an interview with the local press while visiting Singapore as a guest of the state, South Korean President Moon Jae-in said that “the goal of my administration is formally declaring the end of the Korean War this year for the 65th anniversary of the signing of the armistice agreement.”

He also said Seoul would continue discussing the matter closely with Pyongyang and Washington, adding that ongoing additional discussions were taking place between South and North Korea and between North Korea and the US.

Attention is also focusing on what the format and timeline for the declaration will be if it does happen within the year. President Moon’s original vision was to have the three leaders make the declaration immediately after the North Korea-US summit. The same idea informed his exploration of possibly joining the North Korea-US summit in Singapore on June 12, as well as his previous proposal of Panmunjeom as a venue for Trump and Kim’s meeting. With differences widening between Pyongyang and Washington, a declaration at Panmunjeom for July 27 looks to be out of the realm of possibility.

Foreign affairs and national security experts mentioned the possibility of a declaration being made at the UN General Assembly in New York this September.

“July 27 would be great because of the historical significance, but in an international politics sense, it would better to attempt it for the UN General Assembly meeting,” suggested Handong Global University international and regional studies professor Kim Joon-hyung in a telephone interview.

Institute for National Security Strategy senior research fellow Cho Sung-ryul said, “If Kim Jong-un is going to appear for the first time on the international stage of the UN General Assembly and in multilateral talks, it would be better to pursue [a declaration] then.”

By Lee Je-hun, senior staff writer, and Kim Bo-hyeop and Noh Ji-won, staff reporters

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