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https://theconversation.com/why-north-korea-may-find-the-souths-new-vision-for-unification-provocative-236971>
"Every year, on August 15, there is a public holiday in South Korea to
commemorate the day the Korean peninsula was liberated from Japanese colonial
rule. On this day, there is a longstanding tradition whereby South Korean
presidents outline their vision for Korean unification – Korea has been divided
between the North and South since 1945.
But the country’s current president, Yoon Suk-yeol, proposed a new approach
this year. Rather than emphasising “peaceful unification” with North Korea, as
has been the focus of many previous presidents, Yoon’s vision places “freedom”
at the heart of South Korea’s unification pursuit.
In his speech, Yoon spelled out the tasks he sees as crucial for moving towards
a unified Korea. Among them was the “need to change the minds of the North
Korean people, to make them ardently desire a freedom-based unification”.
Simply put, this will involve promoting the freedom of North Koreans to access
information from the outside world.
This approach suggests the South Korean government will continue its hands-off
policy towards the activists who have for months been sending balloons across
the border filled with leaflets criticising the regime of North Korea’s leader,
Kim Jong-un.
Yoon’s government has refrained from intervening with the activities of these
activists, who are mainly North Korean defectors. It has even cited a
Constitutional Court ruling from 2023 that declared these actions protected
under freedom of expression.
At the same time, Yoon’s approach will involve preserving the values that make
South Korea a “free” nation, and making these the guiding principles for a
unified Korea. These include its liberal democracy, free-market economy, and
respect for human rights.
So far, there has been no response to Yoon’s announcement from the North. The
North’s silence is quite unusual, as Pyongyang almost always responds to
Seoul’s proposals for unification immediately – and negatively."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
