The ball is now in North Korea's court

By Charles L. Olmsted

You know it’s an interesting presidential trip when the prospects for a “peaceful unification” on the Korean peninsula seem more promising than patching up the differences between South Korea and Japan.

“Peaceful unification” seems a contradiction in terms as President Park Geun-hye’s speeches and meetings about unification, peace, and denuclearization just happened to coincide with some of North Korea’s usual tactics. North Korea does not like to be ignored, so they added some flavor to the president’s already booked agenda by firing two missiles into the East Sea last week. North Korea’s missile launches were probably just their opinion of the South Korea-Japan-United States summit of the three leaders.

North Korea’s missile launches just seemed to bolster the South’s call for peace.

President Park is correct in the idea that a combined Korea will have so many more benefits than a divided peninsula. Just the idea of peace between the two Koreas will help solidify a more peaceful Northeast Asia. There are different areas where the two countries can complement each other to strengthen an already strong entity. A stronger, united Korea can more effectively work with China, Russia and the U.S.

Having North Korea move into the fold will allow more time and effort to deal with bigger issues instead of having to wonder about the North Korean factor.

Her Dresden Declaration is more of a North-South issue and less of the six-party talks which are what it should be. At the end of the day, it is still North Korea and South Korea staring at each other across the DMZ with guns ready.

The president’s speech in Germany about what is needed to start a movement toward unification is exactly what the project needs. It echoes the agreement from more than 40 years ago between her father and Kim Il-sung.

The 1972 agreement talked of reunification through “peaceful means” and without the use of weapons from either side. The recent speech talked of being free “to enjoy life, peace and prosperity.” There is no talk of arms or invasion, something which North Korea seems to believe will start from the South.

It should be noted that President Park did not mention the call to denuclearize until the bottom quarter of her Dresden Declaration as compared to U.S. President Obama who seemed to harp on that from the beginning. There are many areas the South and North can work on to achieve.

Instead of demanding things from the North, the South has offered to share in several key categories, like education, infrastructure, economy and management.

Hopefully, the North Korean powers listened so they can look at the offers and plans and realize the opportunities they are being given. There was no talk of “destroy the nukes or else…” in her speech.

But make no mistake North Korea, there were also no words that even remotely resembled South Korea bowing down to you. There was no talk of surrender on either side. There was also nothing in it that alludes to the United Nations report and criminal activities. The main points involving the U.N. dealt with an international peace park and health care support.

President Park’s message is clear in her recognition of the North’s plight and an offer of assistance.

President Park’s idea for a unification committee does not seem to be a duplicate of the Ministry of Unification’s duties. The public should be involved in the process, since they will be most impacted by everything. The more ideas, the better.

One of the first things to be done on the South Korean side, in my opinion, is to educate the public. The biggest majority know the two countries at odds with each other. Show what life was like before the separation and show the possibilities for adding the strengths of the two countries.

One of the biggest issues the president discussed was the humanitarian issue, with people each day dying without hearing from loved ones from the other side. The humanitarian side seems to be lost in the six-party talks. Videos and messages from divided families would be a great historical exhibit for years to come.

Will the two countries fully unite before the president leaves office? Barring a surprise, or a total implosion in the North, probably not. Can giant strides be made like never before? Absolutely.

There are different groups that can help facilitate the unification idea. She mentioned different cultural and sports meetings, along with cooperation in academic ventures, infrastructure, transportation, agricultural and telecommunications. The list is endless. Not everything needs to be or should be done by the South Korean government. It will be a tremendous financial burden.

The ball is now in North Korea’s court.

Charles Olmsted, a former newspaper writer from Louisiana and Texas, received his master’s degree in Asian Studies from Sejong University in the summer of 2013. He can be reached at clolmsted@hotmail.com.