On April 26, in commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the ROK-U.S. alliance, the two allies agreed that both presidents are committed to building a better future for all Korean people and supporting a unified Korean Peninsula that is free and at peace. The ROK-U.S. alliance's mission is to build a free, unified Korea.
From a civilizational perspective, a unified Korea would historically imply the end of the Cold War era which still exists in the region. Strategic cooperation between the U.S. and China would successfully enable the two Koreas to build a unified Korea, and this unified Korea would then in turn transform the hegemony rivalry between the great powers into co-evolutionary relations. It would liberate North Korean people from poverty and human rights violations. It would also send a strong signal to other failed states affected by civil conflict and authoritarian regimes.
When we make an objective assessment and comparative cost analysis between the real expenditures derived from its division and the benefits from a unified Korea, building a unified Korea would provide far greater benefits than the status quo of division.
A vision for a unified Korea
The defining vision of a unified Korea plays a role in navigating to that ultimate destination.
First, a unified Korea, serving as new nation building, should embody the spirit of "Hongik Ingan" as the guiding thought of Korean national foundations and strive to carry out its message of mercy and goodwill to every human being. A unified Korea will be born again as a national community and extended family culture reflecting self-sacrifice and love. The nation should be a liberal democracy, representing checks and balance, along with the moral free market economic system. The education system should embody a spiritual heritage, along with ethics, human dignity, freedom of speech and the pursuit of happiness. In particular, freedom of religion is imperative for the new nation actualizing the "Korean Dream."
Second, a unified Korea will pursue a non-nuclear regime and peace. A unified Korea can play a constructive role as a peace-loving country and benefit the region in many ways.
Third, a unified Korea will pursue the ROK-U.S. alliance in parallel with regional multilateral security. We will maintain the alliance, which has made contributions to deterring war and at the same time promoting liberty and prosperity. It will also foster regional multilateral security cooperation of mutual respect. Fourth, a unified Korea will become a hub for geo-economy, transportation, finance, science and technology. A unified Korea will be transformed from the epicenter of tension and conflict to the origin of peace, coexistence, and common prosperity. Prospectively, a unified Korea will create a free and prosperous civilized global community engaging Eastern and Western civilizations through open culture and various religions.
ROK-U.S. alliance's role for achieving a unified Korea
A unified Korea will be achieved by the following synchronized efforts.
First, the ROK-U.S. alliance, which has contributed to institutionalizing the liberal democratic state, a digital-led country as well as cultural soft power, should build a unified Korea. The ROK-U.S. summit should conclude with an ironclad commitment to the creation of a free and unified Korea. This should provide the focus for the alliance policy and strategy going forward. Every action the alliance undertakes should be made with consideration for how they will affect the goal of achieving unification. To facilitate such tasks, the state leaders should direct their national security staff to establish a presidential-level strategic unification combined taskforce with a dedicated team to plan for and coordinate a ROK-led, U.S.-supported unification process.
This permanently established full-time team will consist of policymakers and experts and then explore a vision and strategy for a free, unified Korea. It will also develop comprehensive implementation plans for peaceful unification, denuclearization, respect for human rights and for contingencies that may arise, and which will eventually lead to unification. Simultaneously, civil society stakeholders should be encouraged to continue their own working groups to focus on a free and unified Korea and all the issues surrounding this challenge. These will include but not be limited to human rights, economic development and people-to-people contact.
These groups, such as Action for Korea United, overseas Korean diaspora including AKU USA and the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea, are critical for informing, educating and advocating unification among Korean people on both sides of the demilitarized zone, as well as the international community. Synergistic effects can be achieved by the alliance's strategic unification taskforce and civil society working groups coordinating such efforts to maximize the comparative advantages each brings to this uniquely Korean challenge.
Second, the two Koreas will take the initiative in creating a cooperative unification environment. The two Koreas should work together by exploring North-South Korean tasks respectively and identifying joint tasks for building a unified Korea, along with collaboration with key stakeholders.
The final challenge involves how to best address the crippled armistice structure in order to build a peace regime on the peninsula. North Korea withdrew its representatives from the Military Armistice Commission (MAC). In 1994, China also recalled its representatives from the MAC in accordance with North Korea's request. The current divided Korean Peninsula is an unstable armistice structure between the United Nations Command and North Korea's Panmunjom Representatives. This mechanism should be reviewed and revitalized. And North Korea and China should both return their representatives to MAC. Under the MAC basis, political leadership among the two Koreas, the U.S., and China should launch peace talks in parallel with the substantial progress of denuclearization, and in the event of complete denuclearization, the peace treaty will be signed among the key actors.
Let's proactively participate in a comprehensive strategy for building a unified Korea, We are confident that a unified Korea will come to reality within our generation. Our generation will become the historical creators for the unification of a divided Korea.
Professor Chung Kyung-young teaches at Hanyang University's Graduate School of International Studies.
QOSHE - ROK-US alliance's strategy for building free, unified Korea - Guest Columnaccount_circleinfobrightness_mediumcancel
On April 26, in commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the ROK-U.S. alliance, the two allies agreed that both presidents are committed to building a better future for all Korean people and supporting a unified Korean Peninsula that is free and at peace. The ROK-U.S. alliance's mission is to build a free, unified Korea.
From a civilizational perspective, a unified Korea would historically imply the end of the Cold War era which still exists in the region. Strategic cooperation between the U.S. and China would successfully enable the two Koreas to build a unified Korea, and this unified Korea would then in turn transform the hegemony rivalry between the great powers into co-evolutionary relations. It would liberate North Korean people from poverty and human rights violations. It would also send a strong signal to other failed states affected by civil conflict and authoritarian regimes.
When we make an objective assessment and comparative cost analysis between the real expenditures derived from its division and the benefits from a unified Korea, building a unified Korea would provide far greater benefits than the status quo of division.
A vision for a unified Korea
The defining vision of a unified Korea plays a role in navigating to that ultimate destination.
First, a unified Korea, serving as new nation building, should embody the spirit of "Hongik Ingan" as the guiding thought of Korean national foundations and strive to carry out its message of mercy and goodwill to every human being. A unified Korea will be born again as a national community and extended family culture reflecting........
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