Is it possible to unite Korea on federation principles?
A representative of the Institute for Disarmament and Peace at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of North Korea expressed concern about the state of relations between the North and the South, ITAR-TASS reported. In a statement, the representative of the DPRK stressed that after the conservative authorities that promoted the policy of confrontation came to power in South Korea 3 a year ago, "these relations were on the brink of war."According to him, the main reason for the exacerbation of the situation on the peninsula, which has become “explosive”, is Seoul’s reckless and dangerous strategy of uniting the two countries “by absorption”. Such a strategy of South Korea, noted in Pyongyang’s statement, completely contradicts the previously reached agreements between the North and the South to unite the DPRK and the Republic of Korea based on the principles of the federation, which imply "the existence of two different systems and governments within one nation and one state."
The federation’s proposal, proposed by Pyongyang, is considered by the representative of the Institute for Disarmament and Peace - “this is the world's leading faithful and fair way to unite the country”, only it meets the specifics of the situation and the aspirations of the Korean people. And “unification through absorption is a direct path to war,” the representative of the DPRK stressed.
In Pyongyang, we are ready for negotiations in exchange for humanitarian aid and diplomatic concessions by a number of states. But so far only the Russian Federation fulfills the preliminary conditions of a possible truce, so even before the DPRK leader’s arrival in Buryatia, the Russian side sent about 50 thousand tons of flour to the surviving disaster. With an average price of flour in the domestic market of Russia 10 thousand rubles per ton, the cost of gratuitous gifts to North Korea will be 500 million rubles. For example: the South Korean Reconciliation and Cooperation Council of Korea planned to send all of 2,5 thousand tons of flour to Pyongyang by the end of August.
The myth of the "unpredictability" and "irrationalism" of leader Kim Jong Il, the North Korean elite, is nothing more than an invention of Western propaganda. All the recent actions of the DPRK leadership fit into the course of a completely rational logic, which, perhaps, looks very tough and unusual from the standpoint of a Western man in the street, educated on liberal values. This position is quite rational if we proceed from the interests of Pyongyang. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the nuclear program implemented by the DPRK leadership, no matter how it affected the international nuclear non-proliferation regime, remains for Pyongyang the only reliable guarantee that North Korea will not repeat the sad fate of many countries that did not please the Western world. Starting from Iraq and Yugoslavia and ending with Libya.
The position of the United States
The United States of America, despite the support of the allies from the North Atlantic Alliance and the UN peacekeeping forces, suffered a tactical defeat in the Korean War at the beginning of the 1950-s, and is still trying to solve the "Korean issue" in their own interests. Although to eliminate the DPRK, its nuclear potential does not come out. Previously, the USSR and Communist China interfered, Pyongyang now acquired a “nuclear baton”, and, besides, it has delivery systems, at least, to the Japanese islands.
This gives the opportunity to "dare." It is clear that there are opportunities to eliminate the North Korean regime, but such actions can cause great losses among the Korean people and outrage of the world community. All this makes Washington only gnash its teeth, because there are no options for the development of a US-friendly scenario yet.
The United States cannot endlessly support the separation of the Korean people. Protest sentiment among Koreans is growing. Southerners have almost stopped scaring the prospect of paying for a merger with North Korea from their own pockets. The reunification of a divided nation is more important than money. The project of uniting the two countries in Seoul is estimated at about 1 trillion. dollars.
It is doubtful that Washington will unite the two Koreas, because a new power will be created with nuclear power. weapons, highly developed economy, powerful military potential. The United States will have to withdraw its forces from the South, since without this the North will not unite. The White House is favored with the option of "absorption", with the subsequent total "democratization" of the North, with the preservation of its military bases.Russia's position
We need peace on the peninsula, the peaceful reunification of the Korean people. Naturally, the removal of US military bases from South Korea is also a plus for us. United Korea and the Russian Federation will be able to fully implement the Trans-Korean railway project and the construction of a gas pipeline.
At present, the scale of the Russian-North Korean economic cooperation in comparison with other Asian partners of the Russian Federation really looks extremely insignificant, and the volume of mutual trade turnover does not exceed 100 million dollars a year. The limited opportunities for the export and foreign exchange resources of the DPRK, which is largely isolated from world processes, do not allow us to hope that the situation here will be able to seriously improve.
It is necessary to take into account the fact that North Korea is a close neighbor of the Russian Federation. In addition, the people of the DPRK treat us very well and even with sympathy, which is now a rarity. This positive attitude towards Russia and its inhabitants is characteristic of most of the North Korean elite, and for the overwhelming majority of ordinary Koreans, who do not believe that there are serious unresolved issues in their relations with Russia.
The situation on the Korean Peninsula directly affects Russia's strategic interests and its national security. To effectively defend its interests, to pursue a policy of detente on the peninsula, Russia needs to maintain a political dialogue and have channels of communication with two Korean states - with the Republic of Korea and with the DPRK. It is this RF that is seeking.
The current visit of the DPRK leader confirmed the continuity of a good-neighborly, friendly Russian policy towards North Korea. This was confirmed by D. A. Medvedev: “I have quite positive feelings from the meeting, it was frank, informative, very multidimensional.”
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