Handshakes replaced six and a half decades of tension and sporadic gunfire along the Demilitarized Zone this year and inter-Korean relations rapidly defrosted.

CHO HAN-BUM, SENIOR ANALYST KOREA INSTITUTE FOR NATIONAL UNIFICATION "Sanctions depressed our efforts to make a new stage of inter-Korean relationship but in total we were successful especially in the military aspect."

JACK BARTON DEMILITARIZED ZONE "Military talks and cooperation have mostly focused here on the DMZ that divides the peninsula and surrounding areas, which South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Chairmen Kim Jong Un announced should be turned into a peace zone during their first summit back in April."

Since then troops have been withdrawn from twenty-two guard posts in the DMZ, with all but two of them completely demolished. Artillery has also been pulled back and a no-fly zone introduced. The joint security area where talks are held has been disarmed and efforts are now underway to remove at least some of the many thousands of landmines still posing a deadly threat. There are even now plans to restore road and train links, measures that could still be derailed if the broader denuclearization talks do not start to make progress.

"Trump and Kim agreed to the final goal of denuclearization of the Korean peninsula, it's an achievement, but in detail they didn't agree about the denuclearization method."

WOO JUNG-YEOP RESEARCH FELLOW FOR THE SEJONG INSTITUTE "So the hope is there should be some bigger progress between the US and North Korea with regards to North Korea's nuclear weapons then in 2019 much faster progress can be made between the two Koreas."

Some South Koreans also worry the current cooperation is not being linked to negotiations, which could undermine the broader diplomacy, and security, on the peninsula.

"South Korea is pretty much divided on that front. Some can argue that easing the tension in the military area would lead to much more peace on the Korean peninsula, but at the same time there are people who argue that without any further movement by North Korea it will make South Korean very vulnerable if it continues to decrease its military readiness."

2018 witnessed the most profound inter-Korean détente so far. But 2019 will require genuine denuclearization to commence in order for an easing of sanctions that could pave the way for the much deeper cooperation both Seoul and Pyongyang are seeking. Jack Barton, CGTN at the demilitarized zone.