Speaking to a group of Korean in Germany, President Roh Moo Hyun revealed his ideas about reunification in "four phases." It is significant to have his Participatory Government disclose its idea about a larger framework for reunification at a time when it remains unclear whether the six-party talks will begin again. After improving on parts that remain incomplete it should then officially present the country with a more elaborate and refined unification proposal.
It is good to see the president put forth a unification plan that "proceeds in a very stable manner through a predictable process," because while the reunification of the Korean peninsula must be based on the ready capabilities of the Korean people, it must coincide with the work of building a peace that includes all of Northeast Asia and establishes the foundation for joint prosperity. That kind of unification clearly differs from the dangerous and unrealistic "unification by absorption of North Korea" and "unification by North Korean collapse." There is already controversy in the wake of the revelation that the ROK-US Combined Forces Command stopped working on operational plans for possible emergency situation in the North. Waiting for the North Korean system to collapse or looking like you are trying to make that happen does not in any way help the work of unification.
One wonders how appropriate it would be to divide the first two phases, the "establishment of a structure of peace" and the "intensification of exchange and cooperation" into two separate areas. In a newspaper interview Roh said it "is difficult expanding the Gaeseong Industrial Complex project without resolution to the nuclear issue." That, however, not only contradicts his earlier statement that he "is doubtful of the idea that North Korea will give up its nuclear plans if it is pressured," it is also does not help strengthen Korea's independent capacity to achieve reunification. Those first two phases are not by their nature consequential or sequential, and so they should happen simultaneously. There needs to be a lot of research done on the European Union, among other things, since in some ways it could be used as a model for inter-state union prior to reunification.
It is also unfortunate you do not see any active work to resolving the biggest issue of all, the North Korean nuclear issue. If it is judged that restarting the existing discussion framework would be ineffective then some other attempt needs to be considered.
The Hankyoreh, 15 April 2005.
[Translations by Seoul Selection (PMS)]
[Editorial] Roh's '4 Phase Unification' |
