The Journal

Issue date: 10/11/07 Section: Opinion/Editorial

Friendship between South and North Korean soldiers is only temporarily possible in the South Korean film, "JSA" (Joint Security Area). In reality, the JSA is located in the middle of the De-Militarized Zone, a heavily militarized strip of land with mines and barbed wires dividing South and North Korea. It is the only visible Cold War legacy in the world.

North Korea's "Dear Leader" Kim Jong II, officially called the chairman of the National Defense Commission of North Korea, is a film-fanatic. He particularly watches the films of Lee Young Ae, his favorite South Korean actress. On Oct. 2, South Korean President Roh Moo Hyun walked across the military demarcation line on foot to visit Chairman Kim. He did not forget to bring a collection of 150 South Korean films and TV dramas as a gift to Kim, including the "Pearl in the Palace (Dae Jang Geum)," which features Lee. It was on this same day last year that the foreign minister of North Korea announced that the country would conduct a nuclear test.

This meeting is the second-ever summit between South and North Korea since 1945, following the first summit in 2000. At the end of the talks, they signed the Declaration for Advancement of South-North Korea Relations, Peace and Prosperity. This contains concrete and positive steps towards enhancing inter-Korea economic cooperation and developing mutual peace.

According to the Declaration, the industrial complex in Gaeseong, North Korea, where 26 South Korean factories hire around 15,000 North Korean workers, will be gradually enhanced. A "special zone for peace and cooperation" will be established in the West Sea of the Korean Peninsula to form a common fishery/economic zone and prevent future skirmishes in the area. Beyond Mount Diamond (Geumgang) in North Korea, which has attracted more than 1.6 million tourists (mainly South Koreans), people will fly from Seoul, the capital city of South Korea, to Mount Baekdu, a "spiritual mount" for Korean nationals located between North Korea and China.

In addition, the first official South-North joint cheering teams will be sent to the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games on the railway route connecting Seoul, Shineuiju (a North Korean city bordering China) and Beijing. Significantly, the Koreas will cooperate with each other to end the current armistice between the two sides, which has existed since the truce of the Korean War (1950-1953), creating a stable peace.

Continued...

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