North and South Korea

Rocket man v Bulldozer

Apr 3rd 2008 | SEOUL
From The Economist print edition

A rapid return to the bad old days of lurid insults and apocalyptic threats

The reason that I chose this article is that most of the time, in the media, whenever North Korea issue is investigated, it comes dominantly attached to the United States. However, South Korea has been the instrumental player by default. The article made me think that South Korea's perspective is instrumental in shaping the tension between North Korea and the United States. For South Korea unification is important because it will enable broken families to reunite. Also, South Korea expects significant amount of economic benefits from the unification. Already, according to the article, South Korean shipbuilders are planning to open up facilities in North Korea. Furthermore, the article mentions that South Korean businesspeople have lots of investment plans in regard to North Korea. I believe this revealed appetite by South Koreans for the unification is making North Korea a tough bargainer before the United States on the matters associated with the nuclear weapons. I believe South Korea should show that it can do good even there is no unification. South Korea should not forget that the way you look at the car in the dealer will not make you bargain effectively on the price of the car.