Reunification?

A well-known yet often undiscussed fact of North Korean life is how political prisoners are treated. North Korean defectors talk about the abuses they suffered while in prison camps- executions, beatings, torture. There are things too horrible to even discuss. Nevertheless, these things are facts of life for North Koreans and will most likely remain so until some things are resolved.

One- South Korea must decide if it truly wants to be reunited with North Korea. My questions to South Koreans about this matter were always ambiguous. The older generations want a united Korea and that is the default answer to any questions about reunification. However, would a reunited Korea happen? Since the end of the Second World War and the Korean War, North and South Korea have been divided militarily and perhaps culturally and socially. Would a blended Korea even be possible?

Secondly, how can China and Russia be removed from the equation? China and Russia aided North Korea during the war and stand as impediments to reunification now. Any conflict on the Korean Peninsula would be between China and the US. I've never believed the US has ever been bad for either Korea as the US has never sent unarmed men in waves toward their own deaths, nor have they withheld vital support to a country it really has no vested interest in supporting. Russia and China, on the other hand, have aided Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il in maintaining their grip on North Korea. The consequences for the people have been dire, to say the least.

Thirdly, would the rest of world assist North Korea in its adjustment to the free world, in whatever state it is in? Such a proposition is costly, never mind awkward.

I cannot answer any of these questions now. The crisis on the Korean Peninsula has been ongoing and it is doubtful it will change in the next year.