By Do Je-hae
Staff Reporter
North Korea is determined to prove its nuclear capacity to the world and inter-Korean relations are at their worst in recent years, but South Koreans are seemingly indifferent to what some perceive as signs of serious military confrontation on the Korean Peninsula.
Despite extensive media coverage of the North’s May 25 nuclear test, coupled with a series of short-range missile launches, life is business-as-usual for most Koreans.
That is because South Koreans are now quite used to threats from the Stalinist state, according to Prof. Koh Yu-hwan of Dongguk University in Seoul.
``Sensitive reactions from the Korean general public have been scarce, because the Korean Peninsula has been divided for a long time and threats from the North are a common issue. We have always been subject to some form of danger from the North,’’ Koh told The Korea Times. The 1950-53 Korean War ended in a truce, not a peace treaty, leaving the two Koreas technically at war.
``Despite recent nuclear developments, South Koreans still maintain a strong level of faith in their country's capacity to contain the military crisis involving the North,’’ he said.
Also, indifference to the North's military threats is in part due to an established South Korean perception that the North is not in a position to start a war, the professor said.
``The probability of a war is minimal. North Korea will not start a war they cannot win. They know that any further provocation will be met with massive retaliation," Koh added.
Citizens and foreigners also shared the view that North Korean nuclear threats will not translate into immediate danger.
``People do not fully trust the government and mainstream media when it comes to North Korea and security issues. They make their own assumptions,’’ said Michael Breen, a columnist with The Korea Times.
``The widespread assumption is that North Korea is bluffing. The second assumption is that the nuclear issue is something between North Korea and the United States,’’ he said.
``Many feel that a war on the Korean Peninsula is unlikely to occur despite North Korea's repeated military provocations, which are mainly aimed at gaining leverage in their negotiations in the six-party talks,’’ said Shim Young-joon, a student at Seoul National University.
Some said that Koreans harbor a perception that those in the North would not use such weapons against fellow Koreans in the South.
``South Koreans, especially the younger generations, firmly believe that North Koreans will not attack them, especially with nuclear bombs,’’ said Jon Huer, a columnist with The Korea Times.
The one-tribe perception was so firmly established in the Korean mind during the administrations of former Presidents Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun that this faith in their northern brothers is now in the deepest recesses of the South Korean consciousness, he said.
Meanwhile, a British research institute gave South Korea a relatively high ranking in its Global Peace Index (GPI).
South Korea ranked 33rd out of 144 countries in a survey conducted by the Institute for Economics and Peace. North Korea placed 131st.