Korean reunification

Korean reunification (Korean: 남북통일; Hanja: 南 北 統 ⼀ )

refers to the potential reunification of North Korea and South Korean reunification
Korea into a single Korean sovereign state. The process towards
reunification was started by the June 15th North–South Joint
Declaration in June 2000, and was reaffirmed by the Panmunjom
Declaration for Peace, Prosperity and Unification of the Korean
Peninsula in April 2018, and the joint statement of the United
States President Donald Trump and North Korean Supreme
Leader Kim Jong-un at the Singapore Summit in June 2018. In the
Panmunjom Declaration, the two countries agreed to work towards
a peaceful reunification of Korea in the future. Unification Flag of Korea
Korean name
Prior to World War I and Japan's annexation of Korea (1910–
1945), all of Korea had been unified as a single state for centuries,
Hangul 통일
known previously as the Goryeo and Joseon dynasties, and the last Hanja 統⼀
unified state, the Korean Empire. After World War II in 1945 and Revised Romanization Tong(-)il
beginning in the Cold War (1945–1992), Korea was divided into
two countries along the 38th parallel (now the Korean McCune–Reischauer T'ongil
Demilitarized Zone) in 1948. North Korea was administered by
the Soviet Union in the years immediately following the war, with South Korea being managed by the
United States. In 1950, North Korea invaded the South, beginning the Korean War, which ended in
stalemate in 1953. Even after the end of the Korean War, reunification proved a challenge as the two
countries became increasingly diverged at a steady pace. However, in the late 2010s, relations between
North and South Korea warmed somewhat, beginning with North Korea's participation at the 2018 Winter
Olympics in Pyeongchang County, Gangwon Province, South Korea.[1][2][3][4][5] In 2019, South Korean
president Moon Jae-in proposed reunification of the two divided states in the Korean peninsula by 2045.[6]

Contents
Division (since 1945)
After Korean War (since 1953)
Bilateral agreements
North-South Joint Communiqué
June 15th North-South Joint Declaration
October 4th Declaration
Panmunjom Declaration for Peace, Prosperity and Reunification of the Korean
Peninsula
September Pyongyang Joint Declaration
Internationally
Current status
Opposition
Strategies
Sunshine Policy
 Opponents
The Three Charters for National Reunification
Three Principles for National Reunification
Ten Point Programme for Reunification of the Country
Plan for founding the Democratic Federal Republic of Koryo
Reunification tax
Korean Economic Community
Reunification Investment Fund
Comparisons
Germany (1945–1990)
Culture
Economy
Vietnam (1954–1976)
Culture
International status
People's Republic of China
Soviet Union and Russia
United States
United Nations
Implications
See also
Related
References
Sources
External links

Division (since 1945)

The current division of the Korean Peninsula is the result of decisions taken at the end of World War II. In
1910, the Empire of Japan annexed Korea and ruled over it until its defeat in World War II. The Korean
independence agreement officially occurred on 1 December 1943, when the United States, China, and the
United Kingdom signed the Cairo Declaration, which stated: "The aforesaid three powers, mindful of the
enslavement of the people of Korea, are determined that in due course Korea shall become free and
independent". In 1945, the United Nations developed plans for trusteeship administration of Korea.[7]

The division of the peninsula into two military occupation zones was agreed: a northern zone, administered
by the Soviet Union, and a southern zone, administered the United States. At midnight on 10 August 1945,
two army lieutenant colonels selected the 38th parallel as a dividing line. Japanese troops north of the line
were to surrender to the Soviet Union, and troops south of the line would surrender to the United States.[7]

The partition was not originally intended to last long, but Cold War politics resulted in the establishment of
two separate governments in the two zones in 1948, and rising tensions prevented co-operation. The desire
for many Koreans was for a peaceful unification but was dashed when the Korean War broke out in
1950.[8] On 25 June 1950, troops from North Korea invaded South Korea. Mao Zedong encouraged the
confrontation with the United States[9] and Joseph Stalin reluctantly supported the invasion.[10] After three
years of fighting, which involved both Koreas, China and United Nations forces, the last of which were led
by the US, the war ended with an armistice agreement at approximately the same boundary.

After Korean War (since 1953)

Bilateral agreements

Despite being politically-separate entities after the Korean War, the governments of North and South Korea
both proclaimed the eventual restoration of Korea as a single state as a goal.

North-South Joint Communiqué

After the "Nixon Shock" in 1971 that led to détente between the United States and China, the North and
South Korean governments made in 1972 the 7 · 4 South and North Korea Joint Statement, also known as
the July 4 North-South Joint Statement or the Joint Announcement on July 4, 1972. It had a representative
of each government secretly visit the other's capital city, and both sides agreed to a North-South Joint
Communiqué, outlining the steps to be taken towards achieving a peaceful reunification of the country:

1. Unification shall be achieved through independent Korean efforts without being subject to
the external imposition of interference.
2. Unification shall be achieved through peaceful means, and not through the use of force
against each other.
3. As a homogeneous people, a great national unity shall be sought above all, transcending
differences in ideas, ideologies, and systems.
4. In order to ease tensions, and foster an atmosphere of mutual trust between the South and
the North, the two sides have agreed not to slander or defame each other, not to undertake
armed provocations whether on a large or small scale and to take positive measures to
prevent inadvertent military incidents.
5. The two sides, in order to restore severed national ties, promote mutual understanding, and
expedite independent peaceful unification, have agreed to carry out various exchanges in
many fields such as culture and science.
6. The two sides have agreed to cooperate positively with each other to seek early success of
the North-South Red Cross talks, which are underway with the fervent expectations of the
entire people.
7. The two sides, in order to prevent the outbreak of unexpected military incidents and to deal
directly, promptly, and accurately with problems arising between the North and the South,
have agreed to install a direct telephone line between Seoul and Pyongyang.
8. The two sides, in order to implement the aforementioned agreed-upon items, to solve
various problems existing between the North and the South, and to settle the unification
problem on the basis of the agreed-upon principles for the unification of the Fatherland, have
agreed to establish and operate a North-South Coordinating Committee co-chaired by
Director Yi Hurak [representing the South] and Director Kim Yong-ju [representing the North].
9. The two sides, firmly convinced that the aforementioned agreed-upon items correspond with
the common aspirations of the entire people, who are anxious to see an early unification of
the Fatherland, hereby solemnly pledge before the entire Korean people that they will
faithfully carry out these agreed-upon items."[11]
The agreement outlined the steps to be taken towards achieving a peaceful reunification of the country.
However, the North-South Coordination Committee was disbanded the following year after no progress
had been made towards implementing the agreement. In January 1989, the founder of Hyundai, Jung Ju-
young, toured North Korea and promoted tourism in Mount Kumgang. After a twelve-year hiatus, the
prime ministers of the two Koreas met in Seoul in September 1990 to engage in the Inter-Korean summits
or High-Level Talks. In December, the two countries reached an agreement on issues of reconciliation,
nonaggression, cooperation, and exchange between North and South in "The Agreement on
Reconciliation, Nonaggression, Cooperation, and Exchange Between North and South",[12] but these talks
collapsed over inspection of nuclear facilities. In 1994, after former U.S. President Jimmy Carter's visit to
Pyongyang, the leaders of the two Koreas agreed to meet with each other, but the meeting was prevented
by the death of Kim Il-sung that July.[13]

June 15th North-South Joint Declaration

In June 2000, North and South Korea signed the June 15th North-
South Joint Declaration, in which both sides made promises to
seek out a peaceful reunification:[14]

1. The North and the South agreed to solve the question of

the country's reunification independently by the
concerted efforts of the Korean nation responsible for it.
2. The North and the South, recognizing that the low-level
federation proposed by the North and the
commonwealth system proposed by the South for the June 15th Joint Declaration 6.15
reunification of the country have similarity, agreed to signed by Kim Jong-il and Kim Dae-
work together for the reunification in this direction in the jung
future.
3. The North and the South agreed to settle humanitarian
issues (such as the North Korean famine) as early as possible, including the exchange of
visiting groups of separated families and relatives and the issue of unconverted long-term
prisoners, to mark August 15 this year.
4. The North and the South agreed to promote the balanced development of the national
economy through economic cooperation and build mutual confidence by activating
cooperation and exchange in all fields, social, cultural, sports, public health, environmental
and so on.
5. The North and the South agreed to hold an authority-to-authority negotiation as soon as
possible to put the above-mentioned agreed points into speedy operation.

October 4th Declaration

During the 2007 high-level inter-Korean talks held in Pyongyang between Kim Jong-il and Roh Moo
Hyun, both sides agreed to the October 4th Declaration, improving on inter-Korean relations on the basis
of the June 15 Joint Declaration. The eight points of the declaration signed on the 4th of October 2007 are
as follows:

1. "The north and the south shall uphold and positively implement the June 15 Joint
Declaration.
2. "The north and the south agreed to convert north-south relations definitely into those of
mutual respect and confidence, transcending the difference in ideology and system.
3. "The north and the south agreed to closely cooperate with each other in the efforts to put an
end to hostile military relations and ensure detente and peace on the Korean peninsula.
 4. "The north and the south, based on the common understanding of the need to put an end to
the existing armistice mechanism and build a lasting peace mechanism, agreed to
cooperate with each other in the efforts to push forward with the issue of arranging a meeting
on the territory of the Korean peninsula of the heads of state of three or four parties directly
concerned to promote the matter of declaring an end to war.
5. "The north and the south agreed to reactivate economic cooperation and bring about its
sustained development on the principles of ensuring common interests and prosperity and
meeting each other’s needs with a view to balanced development of the national economy
and common prosperity.
6. "The north and the south agreed to develop exchanges and cooperation in social and
cultural fields such as history, language, education, science and technology, culture and the
arts, and sports to add brilliance to the time-honoured history and fine culture of the nation.
7. "The north and the south agreed to push forward humanitarian cooperation.
8. "The north and the south agreed to strengthen cooperation on the international arena in the
efforts to protect the interests of the nation and the rights and interests of overseas
Koreans."[15]

Panmunjom Declaration for Peace, Prosperity and Reunification of the Korean Peninsula

In April 2018, at the north-south summit talks at the "House of Peace" in Panmunjom, Kim Jong-un and
Moon Jae-in signed the Panmunjom Declaration for Peace, Prosperity and Reunification of the Korean
Peninsula, declaring that there would be no longer war and a new era of peace has opened on the Korean
peninsula. They declared as follows reflecting the firm will to put an end to division and confrontation, to
open up a new era of national reconciliation, peace and prosperity and more actively improve and develop
the north-south ties. A brief outline of the three main points of the agreement are as follows:

1. "The north and the south will achieve comprehensive and epochal improvement and
development in the north-south ties and thus relink the severed blood vessel of the nation
and bring earlier the future of common prosperity and independent reunification.
2. "The north and the south will make joint efforts to defuse the acute military tensions and to
substantially defuse the danger of a war on the Korean peninsula.
3. "The north and the south will closely cooperate with each other to build a durable and
lasting peace mechanism on the Korean peninsula."[16]

September Pyongyang Joint Declaration

In September 2018 during the Pyongyang summit of the two leaders, under the implementation of the
Panmunjom declaration, the September Pyongyang Joint Declaration was signed. The six main points of
the declaration are as follows:

1. "The north and the south committed to lead the termination of military hostility in the
confrontation area including the Demilitarized Zone to the fundamental removal of the
substantial danger of war and hostility in the whole of the Korean peninsula.
2. "The north and the south agreed to take practical measures to further increase exchanges
and cooperation and to develop the nation's economy in a balanced way on the principle of
mutual benefits and common interests and prosperity.
3. "The north and the south agreed to further strengthen humanitarian cooperation for the
fundamental settlement of the issue of separated families and relatives in the north and the
south.
4. "The north and the south agreed to actively promote cooperation and exchanges in various
fields so as to give momentum to the atmosphere of reconciliation and unity and
 demonstrate at home and abroad the stamina of the Korean nation.
5. "The north and the south shared the view to make the Korean peninsula a peace zone free
from nuclear weapons and nuclear threat and ensure necessary practical advance early to
this end.
6. "Chairman of the State Affairs Commission Kim Jong-un agreed to visit Seoul in the near
future at the invitation of President Moon Jae In."[17]

Internationally

A unified Korean team marched in the opening ceremonies of the 2000, 2004, and 2006 Olympics, but the
North and South Korean national teams competed separately. There were plans for a truly unified team at
the 2008 Summer Olympics, but the two countries were unable to agree on the details of its
implementation. In the 1991 World Table Tennis Championships in Chiba, Japan, the two countries formed
a unified team. A Unified Korea women's ice hockey team competed under a separate IOC country code
designation (COR) in the 2018 Winter Olympics; in all other sports, there were a separate North Korea
team and a separate South Korea team.[18]

Current status
The nature of unification, i.e. through North Korean collapse or gradual integration of the North and South,
is still a topic of intense political debate and even conflict among interested parties, who include both
Koreas, China, Japan, Russia, and the United States.[19][20]

Relations between the two Koreas have been strained in recent years, with provocative actions taken under
the rule of Kim Jong-il (such as the suspected torpedoing of the ROKS Cheonan[21] and the bombardment
of Yeonpyeong Island,[22] both in 2010) and his son, Kim Jong-un (such as the rocket launches in April
and December of 2012 and North Korea's third nuclear test in 2013). Kim Jong-un's sudden accession and
limited experience governing have also stoked fears about power struggles among different factions leading
to future instability on the Korean Peninsula.[23]

Reunification remains a long-term goal for the governments of both North and South Korea. North Korean
leader Kim Jong-un made calls in his 2012 New Year's Day speech to "remove confrontation" between the
two countries and implement previous joint agreements for increased economic and political
cooperation.[24] The South Korean Ministry of Unification redoubled their efforts in 2011 and 2012 to raise
awareness of the issue, launching a variety show (Miracle Audition) and an Internet sitcom with pro-
unification themes.[25][26] The Ministry already promotes curriculum in elementary schooling, such as a
government-issued textbook about North Korea titled "We Are One" and reunification-themed arts and
crafts projects.[25]

In Kim's 2018 New Year's address, a Korean-led reunification was repeatedly mentioned and an
unexpected proposal was made for the North's participation in the 2018 Winter Olympics that were held in
Pyeongchang County of South Korea, a significant shift after several years of increasing hostilities.[27]
Subsequent meetings between North and South led to the announcement that the two Koreas would march
together with a unified flag in the Olympics' Opening Ceremony and form a unified ice hockey team, with
a total of 22 North Korean athletes participating in various other competitions including figure skating,
short track speed skating, cross-country skiing and alpine skiing.[28][29]

In April 2018, at a summit in Panmunjom, Kim Jong-un and Moon Jae-in signed a deal committing to
finally seal peace between both Koreas by the end of the year. Both leaders also symbolically crossed each
other's borders, marking it the first time a South Korean president cross the North border and vice versa.
Kim stated that the North will start a process of denuclearization, which was supported by then U.S.
President Donald Trump.[30] The peace talks led to nothing, as North Korea continued forward with their
nuclear program, despite former U.S. President Donald Trump boasting it as a considerable win.[31]

Opposition
Support for reunification in South Korea has been falling, especially among the younger generations. In the
1990s, the percent of people in government polls who regarded reunification as essential was over 80%. By
2011 that number had dropped to 56%.[25][32]

According to a December 2017 survey released by the Korea Institute for National Unification, 72.1% of
South Koreans in their 20s believe reunification is unnecessary,[33] with younger South Koreans saying
they are more worried about issues related to their economy, employment, and living costs.[33]

Polls show a majority of South Koreans, even those in age groups traditionally seen as being more eager to
reunify the peninsula, are not willing to see their living conditions decline in order to accommodate a
reunification with the North.[33] Moreover, about 50% of men in their 20s see North Korea as an outright
enemy that they want nothing to do with.[34]

Some scholars, like Paul Roderick Gregory, have suggested that a complete abandonment of Korean
reunification may be necessary, in exchange for the North to dismantle its nuclear weapons program and
permanently ending the Korean War with a peace treaty.[35]

Strategies

Sunshine Policy

Introduced by the Millennium Democratic Party of South Korea

under President Kim Dae-jung, as part of a campaign pledge to
"actively pursue reconciliation and cooperation" with North
Korea, the Sunshine Policy was intended to create conditions of
economic assistance and cooperation for reunification, rather than
sanctions and military threats. The plan was divided into three
parts: increased cooperation through inter-Korean organizations
(while maintaining separate systems in the North and South),
South Korea's National Assembly.
national unification with two autonomous regional governments,
The woman holding a dove
and finally the creation of a central national government. In 1998,
symbolizes democracy, peace and
Kim approved large shipments of food aid to the North Korean
freedom.
government, lifted limits on business deals between North Korean
and South Korean firms, and even called for a stop to the
American economic embargo against the North. In June 2000, the leaders of North and South Korea met in
Pyongyang and shook hands for the first time since the division of Korea.

Despite the continuation of the Sunshine Policy under the Roh administration, it was eventually declared a
failure by the South Korean Ministry of Unification in November 2010 over issues of North Korea's
nuclear weapons program, stymied further negotiations, and again strained relations between the two
Koreas.

Opponents
Opponents of the Sunshine Policy argue that dialogue and trade with North Korea did nothing to improve
prospects for peaceful reunification, despite the transfer of large funds to the North Korean government by
President Kim Dae-jung, but allowed the North Korean government to retain its hold on power. Others
believe that South Korea should remain prepared for the event of a North Korean attack. Hardlineers also
argue that the continued and maximized isolation of the North will lead to the country's collapse after which
the territory could be absorbed by force into the Republic of Korea.

In November 2000, outgoing US President Bill Clinton wanted to visit Pyongyang. However, the intended
visit never happened because the controversy surrounding the results of the 2000 US presidential election.
Around April or May 2001, Kim Dae-jung was expecting to welcome Kim Jong-il to Seoul. Returning
from his meeting in Washington D.C. with newly elected President Bush, Kim Dae-jung described his
meeting as embarrassing while privately cursing President Bush and his hardliner approach. This meeting
negated any chance of a North Korean visit to South Korea. With the Bush administration labeling North
Korea as being part of the "axis of evil", North Korea renounced the nonproliferation treaty, kicked out UN
inspectors, and restarted its nuclear program.[36] In early 2005, the North Korean government confirmed
that the country had successfully become a nuclear armed state.[36]: 504–505

The Three Charters for National Reunification

In North Korea, the Three Charters for National Reunification serve as the sole guidelines for reunification.
It contains the Three Principles for National Reunification, Ten Point Programme for Reunification of the
Country and the plan of founding the Democratic Federal Republic of Koryo.[37] They were formulated by
North Korean leader Kim Jong-il into the Three Charters for National Reunification in his public work "Let
Us Carry Out the Great Comrade’s Instructions for National Reunification”, in 1997.

Three Principles for National Reunification

North Korean President Kim Il-sung proposed the Three Principles of National Reunification in 1972 as
the central force that should drive reunification. They are as follows:

1. "National reunification should be achieved independently without reliance on outside forces

and free from their interference.
2. "Great national unity should be promoted by transcending the differences in ideas, deals
and systems.
3. "National reunification should be achieved by peaceful means without resorting to arms."[38]

Ten Point Programme for Reunification of the Country

The Ten Point Programme for Reunification of the Country was written by Kim Il-sung in 1993 and
contains the idea of reunification with south Korea under a pan-national unified state. It emphasises once
again the need for an independent reunification, and more specifically, the removal of US forces from the
peninsula. It is laid out as follows:

1. "A unified state, independent, peaceful and neutral, should be founded through the great
unity of the whole nation.
2. "Unity should be based on patriotism and the spirit of national independence.
3. "Unity should be achieved on the principle of promotion coexistence, coprosperity and
common interests and subordinating everything to the cause of national reunification.
4. "All manner of political disputes that foment division and confrontation between the fellow
countrymen should be stopped and unity be achieved.
 5. "They should dispel fears of invasion from the south and from the north, prevail-over-
communism and communization altogether and believe in and unite with each other.
6. "They should set store by democracy and join hands on the road to national reunification,
not rejecting each other for the difference in isms and principles.
7. "They should protect material and spiritual wealth of individual persons and organizations
and encourage them to be used favorably for the promotion of great national unity.
8. "The whole nation should understand, trust and unite with one another through contacts,
travels and dialogues.
9. "The whole nation in the north and the south and overseas should strengthen solidarity with
one another on the way to national reunification.
10. "Those who have contributed to the great unity of the nation and to the cause of national
reunification should be highly estimated."[39]

Plan for founding the Democratic Federal Republic of Koryo

In accordance with the three principles and the ten point programme, Kim Il-sung elaborated on the
proposed state, called Democratic Confederal Republic of Koryo (DFRK),[40] on October 10, 1980, in the
Report to the Sixth Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea on the Work of the Central Committee. Kim
proposed a confederation between North and South Korea, in which their respective political systems
would initially remain. It is described by North Korea as a "...peaceful reunification proposal to found a
federal state on the condition that the north and the south recognize and tolerate each other’s existing
ideologies."[37] It was stated that the DFRK should be a neutral country which does not participate in any
political, military alliance or bloc, embracing the whole of the territory and people of the country.[41]

Reunification tax

On January 1, 2011, a group of twelve lawmakers from the ruling and opposition parties introduced a bill
into the South Korean National Assembly to allow for the establishment of a "unification tax". The bill
called for businesses to pay 0.05% of corporate tax, individuals to pay 5% of inheritance or gift taxes, and
both individuals and companies to pay 2% of their income tax towards the cost of unification. The bill
initiated legislative debate on practical measures to prepare for unification, as proposed by President Lee
Myung-bak in his Liberation Day speech the previous year. The proposal for a unification tax was not
warmly welcomed at the time. Lee has since reiterated concerns regarding the imminence of unification,
which, combined with North Korean behavior, led to the tax proposal gaining wider acceptance. Practical
measures to prepare for unification are becoming an increasingly frequent aspect of political debate, as
concern regarding imminent and abrupt unification increases.[42]

Korean Economic Community

It has been suggested that the formation of a Korean Economic Community could be a way to ease in
unification of the peninsula.[43] Lee Myung-bak, departing from the Saenuri Party's traditional hardline
stance, outlined a comprehensive diplomatic package on North Korea that includes setting up a consultative
body to discuss economic projects between the two Koreas. He proposed seeking a Korean economic
community agreement to provide the legal and systemic basis for any projects agreed to in the body.[44]

Reunification Investment Fund

Former Inha University professor Shepherd Iverson has proposed creating a $175 billion reunification
investment fund aiming to bribe the elite officials on top of DPRK's hierarchy to ensure a diplomatic way to
resolve the Korean conflict by conducting an internal regime change. In the proposal a sum of up to $23.3
billion would be paid in total to the families of those elite officials who wield power in Pyongyang, while
he noted that the top ten families would receive $30 million each, and the top thousand families would get
$5 million. Another sum of $121.8 billion would go to the country’s general population to start their life
again post-reunification, and it's envisioned that the proceeds for the fund is to be raised from private
groups and business moguls.[45][46][47]

Comparisons
The hypothetical reunification of Korea is often compared to other countries which had divided
governments and reunified, including Germany and Vietnam. Like the Koreas, each of these divided
countries had a USSR/Warsaw Pact or China aligned communist government and a US/NATO-aligned
capitalist government. Germany had the communist German Democratic Republic in East Germany and the
capitalist Federal Republic of Germany in West Germany, and Vietnam had the communist Democratic
Republic of Vietnam in North Vietnam and the capitalist Republic of Vietnam in South Vietnam from 1954
to 1976.

Germany (1945–1990)

While the situation of South and North Korea might seem

comparable to East and West Germany, another country divided
by Cold War politics, there are some notable differences.
Germany did not have a civil war that resulted in millions of
casualties, meaning "it is very hard to believe that People's Army
commanders who fought the South in such a bloody fratricidal
war would allow the ROK to overwhelm the DPRK, by whatever
means". Both sides of Germany maintained a working
relationship after World War II, but the two Koreas' relationship Population pyramid of North Korea
has been more acrimonious.[36]: 509

The East Germans also had 360,000 Soviet troops on their soil in
1989; however, North Korea has not had any foreign troops on its
soil since 1958. "East Germany collapsed because [Soviet general
secretary Mikhail] Gorbachev chose to do what none of his
predecessors would ever have done, namely, keep those troops in
their barracks rather than mobilize them to save the Honecker
regime". The East Germans looked favorably at the fact that West
Germans had good retirement benefits, public order and strong
civil society, whereas the North Korean citizens are not aware of
any immediate benefits from uniting with South Korea, because Population pyramid of South Korea
all such knowledge is kept from them by the state.[36]: 508–509

Under Roh Tae-woo, a former South Korean army general and politician, the Seoul government created a
"Nordpolitik" policy, based on the West German "Ostpolitik" model, hoping to make trading agreements
with Pyongyang.[36]: 477

Culture
The cultures of the two halves have separated following partition, even though traditional Korean culture
and history are shared. In addition, many families were split by the division of Korea. In the practically
comparable situation of the German reunification, the 41-year-long separation has left significant impacts
on German culture and society, even after three decades. Given the extreme differences of North and South
Korean culture and lifestyle, the effects might last even longer. Many experts have suggested that the
differences between "Westerners" and "Easterners" (German: die Mauer im Kopf, lit. 'the wall in the head')
will gradually dissipate as younger generations arise, born after reunification and seeing increasing
migration between eastern and western Germany.[48][49][50] Therefore, it is highly likely that the Korean
youth will play a major role in the cultural integration after a hypothetical Korean reunification.

The North Korean population is far more culturally distinct and isolated than the East German population
was in the late 1980s. Unlike in East Germany, North Koreans generally cannot receive foreign
broadcasting or read foreign publications. Germany was divided for 44 years and did not have border
clashes between the two sides. By comparison, the Koreas have been divided for over 70 years, and
hostilities have flared frequently over the years, becoming more frequent since the ascension of Kim Jong-
un as the supreme leader of North Korea. The Korean ethnic nationalist belief that unification is a "sacred,
universally-desired" goal to recover an ethnic homogeneity (dongjilseong) obscures North-South
differences developed since 1945, and risks intolerance for the cultural accommodation necessary for a
unified Korean polity.[51]

Economy

Korean reunification would differ from the German reunification

precedent. In relative terms, North Korea's economy is currently in
a far worse situation than that of East Germany in 1990. The
income per capita ratio (PPP) was about 3:1 in Germany
(US$25,000 for the West, about US$8,500 for the East).[52][53]
The ratio is around 22:1 in Korea (in 2015: US$37,600 for the
South, US$1,700 for the North).[54] While at the moment of
German reunification the East German population (around 17 North Korea has a state-run
million) was about a third of West Germany's (more than 60 command economy aspiring for
million), the North Korean population (around 25 million) is autarky (Juche) with a negligible
currently around half of South Korea's (around 51 million). In the market segment.
event of Korean reunification, a flood of North Koreans to a much
more developed South Korea may cause the country's economy to
undergo a heavy burden that will cost upwards of US$1 trillion, possibly creating a period of economic
collapse or stagnation.[55]

In September 2009, Goldman Sachs published its 188th Global Economics Paper named A United
Korea?[56] which highlighted in detail the potential economic power of a United Korea, which will surpass
all current G7 countries except the United States; including Japan, the United Kingdom, Germany and
France within 30–40 years of reunification, estimating GDP to surpass $6 trillion by 2050.[57] The young,
skilled labor and large amount of natural resources from the North combined with advanced technology,
infrastructure and large amount of capital in the South, as well as Korea's strategic location connecting three
economic powers, is likely going to create an economy larger than some of the G7. According to some
opinions, a reunited Korea could occur before 2050.[57] If it occurred, Korean reunification would
immediately raise the country's population to over 80 million.[58] According to research by Jin-Wook Kim
at Citi, reunification would require an investment of US$63.1 billion in the long term to rebuild
transportation such as railroads, roads, airports, sea ports and other infrastructure like power plants, mines,
oil refineries, and gas pipelines.
 Korea in 2050[56]
United Korea South Korea North Korea

GDP in USD $6.056 trillion $4.073 trillion $1.982 trillion

GDP per capita $78,000 $81,000 $71,000
GDP growth (2015–2050) 4.8% 3.9% 11.4%
Total population 78 million 50 million 28 million

Vietnam (1954–1976)

The division between North and South Korea can be seen as more comparable to North and South
Vietnam, which were also divided after independence following World War II from a colonial power
(France), and after occupation by Japan. Unlike the Korean War, the Vietnam War spanned a much longer
period and spilled over to the neighboring countries of Laos and Cambodia. The end of the war resulted in
all three countries coming under control of the Communist-oriented independence movements 1976, with
China and the Soviet Union competing for influence.[59] Relations between North and South Vietnam were
also acrimonious, with North Vietnam being largely isolated and unrecognized except by other communist
states, similarly to North Korea.

Culture

Similarly to both Germany and Korea, the separation of North and South Vietnam has also left significant
cultural differences that continue today.[60] Furthermore, cultural differences between the two parts of
Vietnam had also existed prior to the partition of the country.

International status

People's Republic of China

In 1984, the Beijing Review provided PRC's view on Korean unification: "With regard to the situation on
the Korean peninsula, China's position is clear: it is squarely behind the proposal of the Democratic
People's Republic of Korea for tripartite (between the two Koreas and the United States) talks to seek a
peaceful and independent reunification of Korea in the form of a confederation, free from outside
interference. China believes this is the surest way to reduce tension on the peninsula."[61]

PRC's current relationship with North Korea and position on a unified Korea is seen as dependent on a
number of issues. A unified Korea could prevent North Korea's nuclear weapons program from
destabilizing East Asia as well as the PRC government. The 2010 United States diplomatic cables leak
mentioned two unnamed PRC officials telling the Deputy Foreign Minister of South Korea that the
younger generation of PRC leaders increasingly believed that Korea should be reunified under South
Korean rule, provided it were not hostile to PRC.[62] The report also claimed that senior officials and the
general public in PRC were becoming increasingly frustrated with the North acting like a "spoiled child,"
following its repeated missile and nuclear tests, which were seen as a gesture of defiance not only to the
West, but also to PRC.[63] The business magazine Caixin reported that North Korea accounted for 40% of
PRC's foreign aid budget and required 50,000 tonnes of oil per month as a buffer state against Japan, South
Korea, and the United States, with whom trade and investment is now worth billions. North Korea is seen
in PRC as expensive and internationally embarrassing to support.[64]
However, the collapse of the North Korean regime and unification by Seoul would also present a number
of problems for PRC. A sudden and violent collapse might cause a mass exodus of North Koreans fleeing
or fighting poverty into PRC, causing a humanitarian crisis that could destabilize northeast PRC. The
movement of South Korean and American soldiers into the North could result in their being temporarily or
even permanently stationed on PRC's border, seen as a potential threat to PRC sovereignty and an
imposition of a PRC containment policy.[65] A unified Korea could also more strongly pursue its territorial
disputes with PRC[66] and might inflame nationalism among Koreans in PRC.[67] Some have claimed the
existence of contingency plans for PRC intervening in situations of great turmoil in North Korea[68][69]
(with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences' Northeast Project on the Chinese identity of the Goguryeo
kingdom potentially used to justify intervention or even annexation).[26]

Soviet Union and Russia

As relations between North Korea and the Soviet Union warmed, the latter returned to warm public support
for Kim Il-sung's peaceful reunification proposals. Soviet attention in Northeast Asia gradually began to
focus on a new plan for "collective security in Asia" first proposed in an Izvestia editorial in May 1969 and
mentioned specifically by Soviet general secretary Leonid Brezhnev in his address to the International
Conference of Communist and Workers' Parties in Moscow the following month:[70]

For us, the burning problems of the present international situation do not push into the
background more long-range tasks, especially the creation of a system of collective security in
those parts of the world where the threat of the unleashing of a new World War and the
unleashing of armed conflicts is centered... We think that the course of events also places on
the agenda the task of creating a system of collective security in Asia.

United States

The United States officially supports Korean reunification under a

democratic government. Mike Mansfield proposed that Korea be
neutralized under a great-power agreement, accompanied by the
withdrawal of all foreign troops and the discontinuation of security
treaties with the great power guarantors of the North and South.

In the 1990s, despite issues surrounding the controversial US-

South Korean joint Team Spirit military exercises, the Clinton
administration still managed to help turn around the situation US President Donald Trump (left),
regarding peace with North Korea through Jimmy Carter's support. North Korean Chairman Kim Jong-un
It promised light water reactors in exchange for the availability of (center), and South Korean President
Moon Jae-in (right) in the
North Korea for inspection of its facilities and other concessions.
demilitarized zone in 2019
North Korea reacted positively, despite blaming the United States
as the original aggressor in the Korean War. There were attempts
to normalize relations with Japan as well as the United States with
South Korean President Kim Dae-jung in open support. North Korea actually favored the United States
military's position on the front lines because it helped prevent an outbreak of war. Eventually, aid and oil
were supplied, and even cooperation with South Korean business firms. However, one of the remaining
fears was North Korea, with their necessary uranium deposits, having the potential to achieve a high level
of nuclear technology.
Former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, another supporter of Korean unification, proposed a six-
party conference to find a way out of the Korean dilemma, composed of the two Koreas and four
connected powers (the United States, the Soviet Union, China, and Japan). North Korea denounced the
"four plus two" scenario, as it was also known, by claiming Korea would be at the mercy of the great
powers and insinuated the reestablishment of Japanese power in Korea. However, North Korea ultimately
lacked confidence in getting simultaneous help from China and the Soviet Union.[36]: 508

United Nations

Following a summit meeting in Pyongyang on June 13–15, 2000 between leaders of the two countries, the
chairpersons of the Millennium Summit issued a statement welcoming their Joint Declaration as a
breakthrough in bringing peace, stability, and reunification to the Korean peninsula.[71] Seven weeks later,
a resolution to the same effect was passed by the United Nations General Assembly after being co-
sponsored by 150 other nations.[72]

A scheduled General Assembly debate on the topic in 2002 was deferred for a year at the request of both
nations,[73] and when the subject returned in 2003, it was immediately dropped off the agenda.[74]

The issue did not return to the General Assembly until 2007,[75] following a second Inter-Korean summit
held in Pyongyang on October 2–4, 2007. These talks were held during one round of the Six-Party Talks in
Beijing which committed to the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.[76]

Implications
A unified Korea could have great implications for the balance of power in the region, with South Korea
already considered by many a regional power.[77] Reunification would give access to cheap labor and
abundant natural resources in the North, which, combined with existing technology and capital in the
South, would create large economic and military growth potential. According to a 2009 study by Goldman
Sachs, a unified Korea could have an economy larger than that of Japan by 2050.[78] A unified Korean
military would have the largest number of military reservists as well as one of the largest numbers of
military hackers.[79]

See also
2018 North Korea–United States Singapore Summit
2019 North Korea–United States Hanoi Summit
2019 Koreas–United States DMZ Summit
23880 Tongil (asteroid honoring reunification process)
Peace Treaty on Korean Peninsula
Inter-Korean summits
Korean conflict
Division of Korea
Korean Armistice Agreement
North Korea–South Korea relations
North Korea and weapons of mass destruction
Index of Korea-related articles
OPLAN 5027 and OPLAN 5029
Panmunjom Declaration
 Korean peace process
List of international trips made by Kim Jong-un

Related
Chinese unification
One country, two systems
German reunification, 1990
Unification of Romania and Moldova

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External links
Media related to Korean reunification at Wikimedia Commons

Ministry of Unification (South Korea) (http://www.unikorea.go.kr/eng_unikorea/)

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