The Future of the Korean Peninsula: Topical Issues and Possible Solutions

The DPRK has become one of the most striking news-maker of 2018. Kim Jong-un took decisive steps to establish cooperation with the ROK – the parties had quite coordinated interaction during the Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, and hold three Inter-Korean summits in April, May and September 2018. Kim Jong-un have hold three meetings with Xi Jinping. The summit of Kim Jong-un and Trump in Singapore was equally resonant. The President of the Russian Federation during the WEF invited Kim Jongun to Russia, earlier the leader of North Korea had a meeting with S.V. Lavrov and V.I. Matvienko. These steps look particularly important against the previous period, when the DPRK was mainly presented by the United States and other states as a security threat. However, despite the changes that took place and the fact that Kim Jong-un is attempting to build a dialogue in different areas, the position remains about the real interests and intentions of the DPRK and the future of the North Korean regime remains ambiguous. The article analyzes existing points of view on the issue and identifies and the prospects’ of the problem development. At the beginning of the study, a comprehensive analysis of the problem of the Korean Peninsula is presented. It examines the features of the interaction of the DPRK with key international players, the question of sanctions against the country, and the peculiarities of the internal political line of the DPRK. Further analysis focuses on the current foreign policy line of Kim Jong Yin, assesses the results of major international meetings, including the opinion of experts and the analysis of the significance of specific agreements for understanding possible scenarios. Specific attention is payed to the Russian policy towards the inter-Korean settlement and Russian potential role in this process.