North Korea: Threat or Blackmailer?

[Alvin Walton]

I dont see a runification happening.
Its been over 50 years.
They are totally different countries.
I doubt the south would want it, they would have to pay a lot to feed and prop up the north.
On the other hand if it came to blows...we win....Kim is gone.....we may inherit another Iraq style country full of Kim-heads. We may as well let China annex the north. Let them deal with it.

[CRedskinsRule]

Originally Posted by Alvin Walton

I dont see a runification happening.
Its been over 50 years.
They are totally different countries.
I doubt the south would want it, they would have to pay a lot to feed and prop up the north.
On the other hand if it came to blows...we win....Kim is gone.....we may inherit another Iraq style country full of Kim-heads. We may as well let China annex the north. Let them deal with it.

China doesn't want them. One thing I wonder, is how strong the re-unification feeling is in SK. When E/W Germany re-united, there was a lot of support at first from West Germans. But when they started having to incorporate the failed economy and infrastructure they were very quickly frustrated. So i wonder if SK would have that same "Yay" moment, or if they view themselves as two separate entities. I don't know, but I don't get the feeling that they really want to be re-unified.

[Dirtbag59]

Originally Posted by CRedskinsRule

China doesn't want them. One thing I wonder, is how strong the re-unification feeling is in SK. When E/W Germany re-united, there was a lot of support at first from West Germans. But when they started having to incorporate the failed economy and infrastructure they were very quickly frustrated. So i wonder if SK would have that same "Yay" moment, or if they view themselves as two separate entities. I don't know, but I don't get the feeling that they really want to be re-unified.

The more people that pass away from the Korean War generation the less the desire for reunification. A big part of the desire for reunification has been bringing families back together. Among the younger generations these family ties are detached, consisting of relatives they never knew (aunts/uncles and cousins if that). In the 80's and 90's you had brothers and sisters, even parents reuniting with Children. Now the only people left with such close ties would be among defectors who have family back in North Korea.

Of course as mentioned previously theres the fact that North Koreas economy is stuck in 1972 while South Korea has evolved with the rest of the modern world.

Ironically theres a reunification memorial called the Statue of Brothers in South Korea consisting of a North and South Korean embracing each other. In this memorial the North Korean was purposely made shorter then his Southern counterpart as this is now a reality after years of famine and malnutrition in the North that has produced a stunted generation, emotionally, intelectually, and most of all physically.

South Koreans are typically taller and weigh more than North Koreans, with the average North Korean adult being as much as 5 inches (about 12.7 cm) shorter and about 14 to 27 pounds (about 6 to 12.5 kg) lighter than their South Korean counterparts.