SEOUL – South Korea’s unification preparation committee is under heavy fire in both the North and the South after its vice chairman’s remarks on unification by absorption.

Last Tuesday the vice chairman of the Presidential Committee for Unification Preparation said that the committee is secretly preparing for unification by absorption, a scenario under which the systems of the two Koreas would merge without Pyongyang’s consent, presumably after the North’s collapse or military defeat.

Pyongyang has condemned Seoul, arguing that its unification preparation is all about “regime confrontation” and that its rhetoric of “trust” and “dialogue” is completely insincere.

“(ROK President)