What is behind the recent tension on the Korean Peninsula?
N Korea says it will send troops to the demilitarised border and resume military drills after it blew up liaison office.
It was just two years ago when the leaders of North Korea and South Korea agreed to work towards peace.
They signed a pact to stop cross-border hostilities – and for once, there was hope for reconciliation.
But now, that hope is fading.
Pyongyang has threatened to redeploy troops near the demilitarised border. It also destroyed a liaison office meant to facilitate dialogue, because, it says, South Korea allowed North Korean defectors to drop anti-government leaflets into its territory.
The government in Seoul denies that and says it will no longer tolerate North Korea’s behaviour.
So, what is next for the region?
Presenter: Kamahl Santamaria
Guests:
Scott Snyder – senior fellow for Korean Studies and director of the programme on US-Korea Policy at the Council on Foreign Relations
June Park – political economist and researcher at the National Foundation of Korea
Aidan Foster-Carter – honourary senior research fellow in Sociology and Modern Korea at Leeds University