KUALA LUMPUR SEPT.20:- Eighteen international journalists at the World Journalists Conference (WJC) 2020 hosted by the Journalists Association of Korea on Sept.16 had shared their thoughts and opinions besides being optimistic and skeptical that the North Korea and South Korea could unite as one nation in the near future.
They were anticipating that the reunification could be realized if leaders from both nations had strong political will together with the people’s support to live in one country under the same government.
The journalists generally want to see both the North and South Korea will be reunified one day as the people share the same language, culture, roots, and historical backgrounds.
Bob Iskandar from the Indonesian Journalists Association in his presentation said, there was no successful effort to unite the two Korean nations after the end of World War 11.
He said, after the end of the cold war between America and Russia, there were efforts to make an approach between the two countries for the possibility of unity.
However, he said, over the years the development between the two Korean countries was that North Korea came out with its nuclear weapons that were tested which ultimately made America more worried as it was said it could reach America.
Bob said that when presenting his thoughts on the topic “The 70th Anniversary of the Korean War and Peace Policy in the Korean Peninsula. This topic was among two others including “Counter Measures to Fake News and the Future of Journalism” and “Global Responses to COVID-19 and Disease Control Methods” that were discussed in the three-day conference from 14-16 Sept.2020 hosted by JAK based in Seoul, Korea.
Bob who is also the Senior Director of Confederation ASEAN Journalists (CAJ); International Relations and Cooperation Worldwide said, the two leaders of the conflicting nations have held several meetings with the presence of Chinese and the Americans but there were no meaningful results.
The live conference conducted via Zoom platform was also highlighted by Bob saying, the main reason why they were still divided was that both the North and South Korean leaders were not wholeheartedly united.
Habib Toumi, Media Consultant, Ministry of Information, Bahrain said, today divided countries like Ireland, Germany, Vietnam, and Cyprus have moved forward to some extent in some cases but there are many positive steps.
“The same should happen in Korea. The technical state of war should be ended; the use of deterrents should be dismissed and a humane solution to ease the plight of divided families should be reached.
“Most Koreans are not interested in the big stakes put forward by politicians such as whether lifting sanctions in their entirety should come ahead of full denuclearization or the opposite.
“Koreans want humanitarian steps that would enable them to reunite with the surviving members of their families before time tragically runs out. The best way is to start with small steps that are acceptable to the parties involved in the war,” said Habib.
According to Habib, the best solution is to take a positive approach to build mutual trust and start slowly. No country or party will accept conditions that are or look humiliating. The concept is to make sure everybody feels he is a winner or at least not a loser.
Nasir Ahmed Memon Aijaz Sindh, Chief Editor of Sindh Courier from Pakistan had the opinion that the peace talks between North and South Korea with the involvement of foreign powers did not have any positive results for several decades.
He said, the foreign power interventions are the main cause for the “war” between North and South Korea did not end until today. It is not the war between the two Korean nations but between the foreign powers.
“If the North and South become one Korea than peace will be guaranteed in the region and the world,” Nasir reiterated.
Son Taek Wang, Yeosijae Research Associate /PhD in North Korea Studies said 15 years ago he was a journalist covering the four-party talks that were between North Korea/Russia and South Korea/ United States of America
Taek Wang said, he also covered the six-party talks and it was very complicated as everybody had their own interests and did not focus on peace
“The Japanese and the Chinese talked about their people being kidnapped by North Korea and they also included nuclearization and domestic politics in the talks.
“The trade war between America and China became the top agenda and it has proven that the talks did not go anywhere,” said Taek Wang.
Meanwhile, Professor Eul-Chul Lim from the Institute for Far Eastern Studies (FES) Kyungnam University when wrapping up the discussions said he will relate all the information gathered at the conference to both the South and North Korean government.
“We hope to see North Korea becoming closer to unification. The benefits of the unification will be shared by the United States of America, Africa, Asia, and the world.
“Journalists speak with sincerity and the conference had become a platform to exchange information and minds towards unification and peace in the Korean Peninsula,” said Prof. Eul Chul Lim. –Malaysia World News
