DATE=8/18/2000
TYPE=BACKGROUND REPORT
TITLE=KOREAS REUNIFICATION WRAP
NUMBER=5-46877
BYLINE=AMY BICKERS
DATELINE=SEOUL
CONTENT=
INTRO: The reunion of long-separated families engulfed
North and South Korea this week as several hundred
people met for four days after some 50 years apart.
As Amy Bickers reports from Seoul, political analysts
say that while the week's emotional events are a step
toward the peaceful coexistence of the two rival
nations, reunification remains a long way off.
TEXT: The joy and anguish of the reunion of 200
Korean families gripped people across the peninsula.
The success of the meetings has prompted suggestions
from both governments that more reunions should take
place in the coming months. Many people in both
countries say they hope that the reunion will mark a
significant step toward the reunification of the two
nations, which have remained bitter rivals since the
Korean War ended in 1953 without a peace treaty.
In Seoul, the desire for reunification was underscored
in the media, where editorials said the meeting of
long lost relatives is the most tangible move forward
in years for the two Koreas. The Dong -- a daily
newspaper -- says that the reunion shows that
reconciliation and peace are taking root.
But South Korean analysts are more cautious. Many,
such as independent political expert David Lee, warn
that the reunion is just one small step toward a
highly complex reunification process, which could take
decades, and is by no means guaranteed.
/// LEE ACT ///
Ultimate reunification will be a political
decision on the part of the leaders in South and
North Korea. I think the present reunion is very
helpful toward peaceful coexistence, but it
will take a lot of negotiating and confidence
building before the political leaders of both
sides agree to reunification.
/// END ACT ///
However, Mr. Lee says that the reunion is an important
milestone, which marks a definite warming in inter-
Korean relations. He notes that there have been other
signs of a blossoming relationship since the
breakthrough summit two months ago between North
Korean leader Kim Jong Il and the South's Kim Dae-jung
-- including a new liaison office at the border and
moves to re-establish a long-closed rail link.
In addition, South Korean President Kim is calling for
a meeting of the two Korean defense ministers. In the
North, the government has called on all Koreans to
support the warming of relations and make the year
2000 a turning point for the troubled peninsula.
Political analyst Dong Chul Cho, of the Korean
Development Institute in Seoul, says that while the
reunion has fanned public hopes for reunification
between the two rival states, it remains an elusive
goal that is anything but certain.
/// DONG ACT ///
Reunification is a long process. We have so many
things to solve before reunification can take
place. This reunion is just a one-time event,
that is what I think.
/// END ACT ///
Mr. Dong says the major obstacles to reunification
include vast political and ideological differences
between the communist North and the capitalist South.
He also notes that the financial cost to South Korea
would be tremendous, since North Korea's economy is in
shambles. Furthermore, Kim Jong Il's unpredictable
government has yet to address the dangerous military
tensions that have hindered Korean relations for
decades. Little is known about his country's nuclear
capabilities - a major point of concern for South
Korea and its allies: Japan and the United States.
Mr. Dong says that the reunions in Seoul and Pyongyang
and other signs of a thaw are emerging now partly
because the North Korean leader desperately needs
international aid and financial assistance.
South Korea, which has one of the world's largest
economies, is much wealthier than North Korea, where
poor centralized planning and high military spending
have greatly damaged the economy.
/// DONG ACT TWO ///
I do not think Kim Jong Il of North Korea really
wants reunification or a rapid improvement in
Korean relations. What he needs is outside help
-- maybe it is money to guarantee the survival
of his regime. So through the summit and through
the events we are observing, he wants to get
some outside help.
/// END ACT ///
Some analysts say that severe economic woes rather
than a genuine desire for reconciliation may be
driving North Korea's dramatic turnaround from its
traditional isolation. But there is no question that
the recent reunion of divided families gave people in
both Koreas new-found hope for an eventual resolution
to half a century of hostility on the Korean
peninsula. (SIGNED)
NEB/HK/AB/JO/KL
18-Aug-2000 07:41 AM EDT (18-Aug-2000 1141 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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