Korea: Unity is still possible, just give talks a chance

Korea is still one of the few divided countries in the world remnant of the cold war. Living in a state of war against each other since 1953, both South Korea and North Korea were ruled by military juntas until in 1987, rulers of South Korea decided to loosen their grip, drafted a constitution and powers were shifted to the hands of civilians.

While South Korea witnessed a democratic transformation coupled with a booming economy, improved civil liberties and living standards, Communist North Korea lacked behind on all levels save for its booming military industry.

The 1950-53 Korean War resulted in a tremendous loss and destruction the encompassed the entire peninsula. After the war, both warring sides confronted each other across the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) situated at the 38th parallel.

While communist North Korea pursued unification under the title of One Korea, South Korea considers itself the legitimate political state on the peninsula. The zero-sum game played by both sides backed-up by the two opposing sides of the cold war eliminated any chance of communication, or interaction among the 'same' people.

With the fall of the Berlin wall and the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1990, the conditions to start talks between leaders of the democratic South Korea and the dictatorship of North Korea seemed ripe.

During that same year, South-North high-level talks between the prime ministers of both countries started and resulted in 1991 in the signing of the South-North Basic Agreement.

The agreement recognized that the two Koreas were in a "temporary special relationship" in the process toward reunification. In 2000, South Korean President Kim Dae-jung visited Pyongyang, the capital of the North, and held talks with his counter part Kim il Sung.

These talks resulted in a historic Joint Declaration emphasizing the promotion of mutual understanding, developing inter-Korean relations and achieving peaceful reunification.

But talks were deemed to failure when the North launched its program for the manufacturing of nuclear weapons. In effect, the South Korean patron, Washington, ordered Pyongyang to "immediately bring to a halt its nuclear program" in return for economic aid that the south would supply the north.

But promises of economic aid were never fulfilled and North Korea announced its intention to revive its nuclear research. In September, the North Korean National Assembly recommended that the government speed up the program. Tension between North Korea on the one side and South Korea and the US on the other side were on the rise.

In the South Korean capital, Seoul, an analyst could not but notice the dramatic change in the aftermath of the 1988 legislative elections, the National Assembly's greater freedoms under the 1987 constitution, and the influence of public opinion.

"After 1987, there was significant political liberalization, including greater freedom of expression, freedom of the press, and freedom of assembly," a citizen who preferred to remain anonymous told Alternative when narrating South Korea's recent history.

"Since then civil and political rights were restored. In the December 1992 election, Kim Young-sam received 43% of the vote and became South Korea's first civilian president in nearly 30 years," she added.

Another citizen added that in August 1996, ex-Presidents Chun Doo-hwan and Roh Tae-woo were convicted of corruption and treason charges. "Kim Dae-jung of the National Congress for New Politics (NCNP) won the December 1997 election, defeating Lee Hoi-chang of the re-named ruling party, the Grand National Party (GNP). Kim's 1997 win was the first true opposition party victory in a South Korean Presidential election."

In 2002, human rights lawyer-turned politician Roh Moo-hyun of the Millennium Democratic Pary, successor of Kim Dae-jung's NCNP, once again defeated the GNP's Lee Hoi-chang to become the current president.