Territorial disputes in Korea

I wrote an essay about unification of Korea and just wondered what other people thought about this topic. This is just my own opinion and I'm probably overlooking many other pionts of view so feel free to contribute your own opinions.

Unification for Peace and Prosperity

On November 9, 1989, the people of Berlin lined the streets and celebrated the fall of the wall. For three decades, the wall between East and West Germany has divided families and caged the east Germans within communist controls. While West Germany prospered East Germany suffered and stagnated. Parallel to the division of Germany during the Cold War, Korea was also divided into two different countries: North and South Korea. Unfortunately, unlike Germany, Korea is still divided to this day. If Korea could be reunited under the rule of south Korea then there would be more peace and prosperity in the world.

Also similar to the German scenario, when Korea was divided, families were separated. Such as the example of Hwang Ui Bun, an 84 year old woman who finally got to see her elder sister and niece in 2000 after 50 years of separation. Hwang traveled with a delegation of 100 North Koreans who were hand picked by the North Korea government to meet with their families in a government planned reunion. Another member of the delegation told reporters that “It took 50 years for me to travel such a short distance.” Hundreds of stories like this exist in the currently separated Korea and if unification is possible then citizens in both North and South Korea would benefit.

Before the unification of Germany, East Germans were suffering under Soviet communist rule. While the idea of communism may be appealing in theory, in practice it is rather ineffective. Unemployment rates were at an all time high and people were isolated from the rest of the world, save for trade with Russia. After the unification of Germany however, the East Germans were able to move quickly towards prosperity and a better standard of living. Similar to the east Germans, the North Koreans are currently suffering under the rule of communism. North Korea is deteriorating because the government has been spending too much on military programs. There is an enormous gap in living conditions between North and South Korea. While South Koreans are enjoying the modern commodities of life such as television, computers, cell phones and other electronic gadgets, the North Koreans are barely getting by and suffering from famines not alleviated by the government. This is indeed a dire situation

Knowing that the North Koreans are living in horrible conditions and the country is slowly wasting away, it is no wonder the nuclear threats were issued. Out of desperation, North Koreans are using nuclear weapons as bargaining chips. While this threat should not be taken lightly, if Korea is reunified again, then perhaps North Korea could improve their economic conditions and would cease the nuclear threats. After Germany was united, East Germany's economy improved substantially and has reached the same level as West Germany. Hopefully North Korea could also improve by shifting from excessive military spending to investing in civilian consumption.

Sources:

“North and South Korean families reunite after decades of separation.” CNN. 16 August 2000. 23 January 2007 .

"German Democratic Republic." Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. 20 January 2007. 23 January 2007 .

“Korea, North.” CIA World Factbook 18 January 2007. 23 January 2007 .