Korea - As we commemorate one wall’s fall, what about the other?

This past month has seen the celebration of the fall of the Berlin Wall, which many believe signalled the end of communism in Europe. But as celebrations abound in Germany, are we any closer to seeing the fall of the other foreboding divide in the world?

The tension that still exists in divided Korea comes after reports earlier this month that a small fire fight erupted in the yellow sea, after a North Korean naval vessel crossed the disputed Northern Limit Line, the demarcation boundary (meaning essentially a temporary “geopolitical” border) in the yellow sea.

One of many disputed precincts between the two countries.

The up and down relationship between the nations had appeared to be cooling, after reaching an apex this year after North Korea tested nuclear devices despite United Nations sanctions.

The North Korean vessel had crossed the NLL at 11:27 am local time, had ignored five warnings, and then fired upon the South Korean vessel before they returned fire. This was from a statement from Seoul and the countries Chiefs of Staff.

Naturally the North offered a different story, and has asked for a formal apology for the “grave armed provocation”, stating that they were fired upon while north of the disputed border.

Now, reports have also emerged that South Korea executed at least 4,934 civilians (and some believe the numbers may actually be in the tens of thousands) between June and September 1950, when South Korean and US forces retreated before the onslaught of the invading Northern forces.

It was thought that the civilians were communist sympathisers.

These events bring into focus the single greatest divide between nations that still exists on the planet. One of the demarcation boundaries is mentioned above. The other border line is the Korean Demilitarized Zone, although to call it a wall as such is not technically correct.

But it remains the last “Berlin wall” on the planet.

This strip of land runs across the Korean Peninsula and effectively is the boundary proper between North and South Korea. The DMZ crosses the “38th Parallel” on an angle.

NOTE: The 38th Parallel is the circle of latitude that is 38 degrees north of the planets equatorial plane. It passes through Spain, Portugal, Greece, etc.

The DMZ is over 150 miles long and approximately 2.5 miles wide; this area of width effectively constitutes a killing zone, and the area is the most heavily militarized border on Earth.

It was formally created at the conclusion of the Korean War. This war, largely seen as a clash of greater powers other than the Koreans, was caused due to similar principles that affected Germany. Korea was effectively divided between the Soviets and the Americans.

While both North (USSR) and South (US) Korea were occupied, the Americans withdrew their military forces in 1949, while the Soviet Union reportedly sent large amounts of military resources to equip Kim Il-sung for an invasion of the South – although it is important to note that archival evidence does paint differing pictures, with some believing the North Korean prime minister/party chairman responsible, others saying it was Soviet design.

But most prudent is the fact that The Korean War technically has not ended.

After the invasion on the 25th June 1950, a cease fire armistice was declared on the 27th July 1953. No formal peace treaty has been signed.

Since then there has been an uneasy tension between the countries with no major power, not the United States, Russia or China able to officially end the conflict (or as some conspiracy theorists offer, unwilling to end the standoff).

There has been progress, although there is still much unease, not only between the two countries, but with the larger, silent players, such as the United States, Russia and China.

The Sunshine Policy, implemented in 1998 by then South Korean President Kim Dae Jung, was seen as the first major step towards peace and unification of the two countries. Jung was award the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts for the policy.

However, the process was criticised in some quarters as it ignored many aspects of the “negative and oppressive” nature of the Northern regime.

In August of 2000, the June 15th North South Joint Declaration moved ahead. It declared:

• "The North and the South agreed to solve the question of the country’s reunification independently by the concerted efforts of the Korean nation responsible for it.
• "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 the reunification in this direction in the future.
• "The North and the South agreed to settle humanitarian issues as early as possible, including the exchange of visiting groups of separated families and relatives and the issue of unconverted long-term prisoners, to mark August 15 this year.
• "The North and the South agreed to promote the balanced development of the national economy through economic cooperation and build mutual confidence by activating cooperation and exchange in all fields, social, cultural, sports, public health, environmental and so on.
• "The North and the South agreed to hold an authority-to-authority negotiation as soon as possible to put the above-mentioned agreed points into speedy operation.

There are many hurdles, not withstanding that the countries have now been separated for 60 years.

South Korea, one of the Four Asian Tigers (or the Miracle on the Han) is a beacon of economic success. Ranked 15th in the GDP classifications of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank (just behind Australia), South Korea is a member of the G 20 and a high income OECD member.

Furthermore, South Korea is the world’s largest builder of ships (in 2008 the country made approximately half of the worlds ship in gross tonnage and ships built) the fourth largest carmaker, and arguably the dominant member of the “next eleven” – one of the countries said to be on the verge of becoming a world leading economic power.

North Korea is a communist country, just ranked in the top 100 in terms of GDP. They are one of only a handful of remaining socialist states in the world, and are one of only two countries to have a completely government planned and state owned economy.

This isolationist policy restricts international and free trade, hence severely handicapping economic growth. Their economy is slowly growing, but lags behind developed countries. Sanctions are often imposed on the country, and the regime often alienates itself with the international community.

The advantage for Korea as a unified country is that North Korea is in many respects an untapped resource, with cheap and young labour.

Still, the culture and sociology of the countries is vastly different, and as it was with Germany, the bridging of what are now two separate cultures will take a huge amount of work. But for the sake of all Koreans, one hopes that the slow progress towards integration can occur in our lifetimes.