The peace talks that are not going to happen
There is something admirable about the government's determination to talk to North Korea. There is also something increasingly disconnected from reality about it. On Wednesday, Unification Minister Chung Dong-young told a parliamentary audit that last month’s land mine explosion in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) had made the need for “fundamental peace” on the Korean Peninsula “ever more crucial.”…
The South Korean government's determination to engage in dialogue with North Korea is admirable, yet increasingly detached from reality. Unification Minister Chung Dong-young emphasized the importance of "fundamental peace" on the Korean Peninsula following a land mine explosion in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) last month. He was correct to highlight the need for such peace, but the incident points to a more significant issue: there is unlikely to be a peace process due to the lack of necessary conditions.
Just a day prior, Pyongyang had issued aggressive threats after the defense ministry informed lawmakers that North Korea had been planting mines in the southern portion of the DMZ's no-man's land. Three South Korean soldiers were injured on September 21 by these mines, one of them seriously. The prospect of peace being offered as soon as the decision is made to desire it is a grim misunderstanding.
However, it is not merely a matter of deciding that peace is desirable; peace will not be created simply by such a declaration in this complex situation.
Written by urgent.news from The Korea Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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- The peace talks that are not going to happen koreatimes.co.kr
