The possibility of reunification of the two Koreas has brightened as South Korea decided to suspend the propaganda broadcasts directed towards North Koreans across the border. The Defense Ministry in Seoul has admitted that the decision was taken to create a peaceful atmosphere before the inter-Korean summit. Obviously, Koreans on both sides of the border want to break down the wall and reunite.
New Zealand Herald reports that North Korea also resorted to similar propaganda broadcasts but it is not known whether they have taken any action on these lines.
The summit between South Korean President Moon Jae In and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, the first one in a decade, is scheduled for Friday.
The peace initiatives
The broadcasts of South Korea used to be a combination of news peppered with pop music and criticism of the North Korean regime. The stoppage of the broadcasts will be the first in more than two years. A similar action was taken earlier in mid-2015 but it was a brief one. It restarted in January 2016 after North Korea conducted its fourth nuclear test.
The North does not lag in such broadcasts either. It is a regular feature but in February, they had gone slow on that issue probably because of the 2018 Winter Olympics. That event has certainly helped to bridge the gap and normalize relations to a certain extent.
The Defense Ministry of South Korea is hopeful that suspending mutual criticism and propaganda will help the cause and the summit will herald in peace and set the pace for a new beginning. The venue will be the border truce village of Panmunjom and discussions are expected to cover various related subjects.
Effects on the United States
North Korea had initiated the reunification process by reactivating the hotline that had been lying dormant for more than two years. South Korea responded by inviting its neighbor to participate in the 2018 Winter Olympics. That broke the ice and Kim Jong-un agreed to a summit meeting with the US President, Donald Trump.
Kim had also made a sudden visit to Beijing to talk with the Chinese president Xi Jinping. Subsequently, Pyongyang announced that it will put on hold activities connected to their nuclear weapons and pursue economic growth and peace.
Donald Trump hopes that the meeting with Kim Jong-un will prove useful. If there is a deal, the United States must be ready for its next course of action. Will the warships in the Korean peninsula be recalled? Will the annual military exercises with South Korea be stopped?
