Korean reunification ( ) refers to the potential unification of North Korea and South Korea into a single Korean sovereign state . The process towards reunification was started by the June 15th North – South Joint Declaration in June 2000 , and was reaffirmed by the Panmunjom Declaration for Peace , Prosperity and Unification of the Korean Peninsula in April 2018 . In the Panmunjom Declaration , the two countries agreed to work towards a peaceful reunification of Korea in the future , and the joint statement of the United States President Donald Trump and North Korean Chairman Kim Jong-un at the Singapore Summit in June 2018 . Prior to World War I and Japan 's annexation of Korea , all of Korea was unified as a single state for centuries , known previously as the Goryeo and Joseon dynasties , and the last unified state , the Korean Empire . After World War II and beginning in the Cold War , Korea was divided into two countries along the 38th parallel ( now the Korean Demilitarized Zone ) . North Korea was administered by the Soviet Union in the years immediately following the war , with South Korea being managed by the United States . In 1950 , North Korea invaded the South , beginning the Korean War , which ended in stalemate in 1953 . Since the end of the Korean War , reunification has become more of a challenge as the two countries have grown to be increasingly divergent at a steady pace . However , in the late 2010s , relations between North and South Korea have warmed somewhat , beginning with North Korea 's participation at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang County , Gangwon Province , South Korea
Singapore Summit
2018 North Korea–United States Singapore Summit
Korean reunification