The article considers a wide range of issues related to the Korean Peninsula including its roots as well as the influence of contradictions caused by these problems between inter-Korean relations and the powers adjacent to Korea. Special attention is devoted to the analysis of the rationale behind the Korean crisis. Its growth in the previous period of time was directly connected with the wish of North Korea to strengthen its nuclear and missile capabilities as well as with the general increase of military and political tensions between North and South Korea. It is obvious that a complicated situation on the Korean Peninsula provides serious destabilizing influence on the overall climate in the North-East Asia and impedes the growth of confidence there. In this context, the emphasis is put on the positions of the major regional actors - the USA, China and Russia. The author argues that against the background of strengthening negative trends on the Korean Peninsula, there is a desperate shortage оf constructive and realistic ideas capable to indicate the way out from the current deadlock. In connection with the recent sharp turnabout in the North Korean policy since the beginning of the year, a special focus has been placed on the thorough review of the recent meaningful events including Kim Jong Un’s trip to China, the inter-Korean summit, official abandonment of missile launches and nuclear tests, the results of the meeting between the leaders of North Korea and the USA. The author makes an attempt to analyze the reasons of such drastic and positive changes in North Korean behavior as well as the prospects for denuclearization taking into consideration deep disparity of approaches on this issue between the DPRK and the USA.