April 26, 2024
Opinion

The conquest of the North: problems with reunification by absorption

South Koreans must be aware that they may not be greeted as liberators

When I talk to South Koreans about the possibility of unification, I cannot help but notice that what they are essentially talking about is not "unification" at all.

What they are talking is, in effect, conquest. The logic South Koreans apply when they talk about unification and its expected benefits is remarkably similar to that once used to justify the forgotten art of imperial conquest.

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