WORLD NEWS: Optimistic talk of unification on the rise throughout North Korea

Optimistic talk of unification on the rise throughout North Korea
source: DailyNK

Residents reading the Rodong Sinmun in a subway station in
Pyongyang in April 2018. Image: Daily NK
Sources throughout North Korea have reported an upsurge in talk of the desire for unification within the country in public spaces in the weeks leading up to this Friday’s inter-Korean summit.


"Most people these days are applauding the improving direction of North-South relations mentioned in the Rodong Sinmun and various lectures and meetings," a source in South Hamgyong Province told Daily NK on April 25. "Some are even asking if this may all result in unification."


"Right now you can just stop anywhere and hear talk of unification all around you. Members of the younger generation especially are expressing hopes that they may 'shed the [socialist] organizational restrictions after unification' or that they will 'watch South Korean movies for a whole month straight' after other controls and crackdowns are lifted."


He went on to explain that elderly residents shared the positive sentiment, relaying statements such as, "our country will live well after unification," and, "our economy will develop by combining the South's technologies with the North's natural resources, and the peninsula will become a formidable country after unification due to our well-equipped national defense forces."


One resident hit hard by tough economic times reportedly said that "things will be less difficult for the next generation due to the hope for unification, despite the recent hard times."


A source in the capital Pyongyang told Daily NK, "People are gathering around the Rodong Sinmun (newspaper) displays set up in the train stations here to read about North-South relations, and some are even gathering in small groups at parks to discuss the current situation."


In North Hamgyong Province, some are talking about their dreams of visiting the South after unification, according to a source there. "Crime will go down because it will no longer be illegal for people to travel to South Korea, and everyone will be happy just to enjoy the freedom to travel around the peninsula."


A source in Ryanggang Province also spoke of the brightening mood, saying that "the majority of people know about the North-South summit, hearing about it on television or through their organizations."


This source explained, however, that cadres and party members are a bit more skeptical, saying that they believe that unifying both country’s various organizations will be difficult if there is rapid unification. He added that these elite members of society believe that "being separated for so long means there will need to be an adjustment period."


On the other hand, he said that some are again talking about the possibility of "forming the Democratic Confederal Republic of Koryo."


The "Democratic Confederal Republic of Koryo" is the name suggested for a unified Korean nation under a federal government, touted by North Korea under Kim Il Sung since 1960. Under this system, both nations would technically unify while respecting each other's different ideologies, and would share a single diplomatic organization and military. It can be understood as a system for unification under 'one people, one nation, two systems, two governments."