A new chapter in the history of the Korean Peninsula began on June 13th, 2000. The leaders of South and North Korea met in Pyongyang for the first time since the division. It was the first encounter between the two heads of state in 55 years, since the Korean Peninsula was divided in 1945. The summit was the result of many years of ups and downs in bilateral relations, which had swung between animosity and guarded optimism. The 2000 inter-Korean summit changed the nature of South-North bilateral relations to that of reconciliation and cooperation. But North Korea’s many provocations since then have plunged the Korean Peninsula again into the pit of conflict and confrontation, where the two sides remain to this day.