It is 70 years since the division of the Korean nation into north and south. It is a fervent desire and determination of the Korean people to put an end to the national division and achieve coordinated progress and prosperity of the nation.
Different ideas and systems exist in the north and the south owing to Korea’s division, but it is not a due reason for both sides to distrust or stand against each other. The more hostile they are to each other while putting aside the great interest of the nation, that is, the reunification of the country, and clinging to their own ideas and principles narrow-mindedly, the deeper the distrust and confrontation will be, making it eternally impossible to achieve national reconciliation and unity.
National reunification is in the interest of not any one side but the entire nation for its unified development and common prosperity. The division spanning from the 20th century hinders unified development of the nation and brings untold misfortunes and sufferings to the fellow countrymen. Tragically, the country’s division has exhausted manpower and material resources uselessly, and the nation’s unified development has been checked. So a rational method should be found out in order to realize the Korean people’s wish to end national division and achieve reunification.
The reasonable method to solve the reunification issue smoothly is to accomplish it by means of federation.
Already in 1980 the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea made a proposal for reunifying the country by founding the Democratic Federal Republic of Koryo (DFRK). The essence of the proposal is to reunify Korea by way of forming a unified federal state on condition that the north and the south recognize and tolerate each other’s ideas and systems. As the Korean people unanimously regard national reunification as the supreme task, the difference in ideology and social system can’t make it impossible to make one Korea. The DPRK has repeatedly clarified its principled stand that it will not impose its ideology and system on the south and that it will subordinate everything to the cause of national unity and reunification. It explained the content of the proposal for establishing a unified state by the formula of federation.
Now different ideas and systems are prevailing in the north and the south of Korea. The reunification based on one of the systems proceeds from absorbing the other, so the idea can’t be accepted to both sides. Such an attempt will surely aggravate the distrust and confrontation between the fellow countrymen and lead to irretrievable national calamity.
Pursuing “unification of systems” is an unfeasible effort considering the actual conditions of Korea. It damages national reconciliation and unity, and bars independent and peaceful reunification.
The north and the south are a homogeneous nation that has lived on the same territory. Therefore, they should work for reunification on condition that the north and the south recognize and tolerate each other’s ideas and systems paying a high tribute to the national community. The proposal for reunifying the country by the formula of federation is a fair and reasonable one that all classes and sections, parties and factions in the north and the south can accept. It opens up a broad avenue for solving the reunification issue in accordance with the Korean nation’s will and requirement without any interference of foreign forces.
Through the adoption of the historic June 15 North-South Joint Declaration 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 reunification of the country have similarity, agreed to work together for reunification in this direction. It reflected the strong will of the Korean people to achieve national reunification as early as possible while sympathizing with federation and actively supporting it.
In June 2000 a significant north-south summit meeting was held for the first time in 55 years of national division, when the historic June 15 North-South Joint Declaration was adopted. With this as a starting point the new era of independent reunification and By Our Nation Itself was opened. The separated families and relatives in the north and the south had reunion to their pleasure, and many-sided contacts and cooperation made all the Korean people filled with delight and fueled the zeal for reconciliation and unity in Korea. The eye-opening successes in the era of the June 15 reunification clearly prove that reunification by means of federation is the most reasonable formula.
The prevailing situation demands all Koreans with the national soul make every possible effort to achieve reunification by federation, irrespective of differences in ideology, ideal, political view and religious belief.
