By That is what South Korean President Lee Myung-bak is saying:
Saying that “unification will happen,” South Korean President Lee Myung-bak on Sunday proposed a three-step plan to unify the Korean Peninsula and a new tax to help his country absorb the enormous costs of integration.
Unification talk, even hypothetical, is a delicate subject on the peninsula, especially at a time that North Korea is dealing with the poor health of its leader, Kim Jong Il, and a rushed succession process for his son, Kim Jong Eun. Analysts said Lee’s proposal will probably draw a sharp backlash from the North.
Lee is the first South Korean president to propose a tax to help with the costs of unification, and his remarks reflect the growing sentiment among South Koreans that they must plan for a North Korean collapse. Though he offered no specifics about his ideas, Lee called preparations a “duty.” [Washington Post]
I have been saying for years that South Korea has to begin real planning for the collapse of North Korea and it appears that since the Blue House is under adult leadership unlike prior administrations their North Korea policy is becoming much more sound. As One Free Korea points out, Lee’s moves toward outlining a detailed unification strategy is not only smart from a national security standpoint but is also smart politics as he is taking an issue away from his political opposition that has long owned the unification rhetoric.
1:05 pm on August 18th, 2010 1
I agree with you GI it sounds like good politics, and it even make sense from a forward thinking economic standpoint. We can all hope Korea is reunited peacefully, but I cannot see any realistic scenario where that peaceful unification could take place. I definitely think a second Korean War is inevitable, so having a tax to pay for it or help rebuild in its aftermath from my take can only be a good thing.
1:34 pm on August 18th, 2010 2
Concur with President Lee's general direction on these matters. I'm not all that sure about a "unification tax". I'm pretty sure their government is just as stupid about money as ours is and would wind up spending it on unrelated stuff.
2:14 pm on August 18th, 2010 3
The South Koreans should tax themselves in preparation for unification, of course. They should preserve those funds in the safest of all investments: US treasury bills.
2:41 pm on August 18th, 2010 4
Maj America #1. I didn't think that I would ever say it but I agree with your post almost 100%. If SK would strengthen their military then perhaps a new Korean war could be averted in the case of a NK collapse but that is a BIG IF. GI Korea is correct that this is a good political move for the Lee administration & of course it is the wise & prudent thing to do, hope for the best but prepare for the worst. Kim Jong Eun is only twenty something years old and to believe that some eighty something year old general is going to listen to him is doubtful. I've read that KJI's brother in law will be the real power behind the throne. If NK does collapse I hope that we are wise enough to STAY OUT OF NK. Most of the NK populace think that we are the devil incarnate so if we sent troops to NK there would be a big war but the NK populace would be more accepting of their SK brothers, also Red China wouldn't feel as threatened by SK troops on their borders instead of US troops on their border.
2:41 pm on August 18th, 2010 5
Korea has $285 billion in forex reserves, providing one of the highest ratio of forex:GDP among countries aside from Taiwan who is also in the same predicament as Korea. This also doesn't include reserves that are denominated in the domestic currency Won; only foreign currencies e.g. dollar/euro/yuan/yen savings are included in the $285-billion forex reserves, with the true total monetary savings of the Korean government presumably reaching into the range of half a trillion. All past administrations made savings into both forex accounts and domestic accounts before in preparation of any economic challenges ahead, it's just that they weren't unveiled for the rest of us to see who didn't need to know.
4:14 pm on August 18th, 2010 6
I was just wondering what the money will actually be spent for? Perhaps all the housewives could hand over all their gold jewelry to bail out the chaebols… oops, been there done that.
4:56 pm on August 18th, 2010 7
"…since the Blue House is under adult leadership…"
I wouldn't go that far. Remember that plan to build a channel through the country?
4:56 pm on August 18th, 2010 8
Sorry, I meant canal…
10:15 pm on August 18th, 2010 9
LMB is challenging the left to put their money where their mouth is and give Koreans a small taste of reunification would really mean- a staggering bill to pay to rebuild the North. This is a shrewd move by LMB.
10:24 pm on August 18th, 2010 10
I think this tax is a very good ideal and they should collect it now. It is a must move to prepare Korea for the eventual complete withdraw of the US troops from Korea early next year.
2:52 am on August 19th, 2010 11
LMB is definitely adult/mature/wise leader compared to the past 2. No doubt about that.
LMB achieved a few things with this announcement.
-Prepare SK people for what's going to happen eventually, that is the cost of rebuilding NK. Even if there was somehow peaceful reunification, NK will have to be rebuilt from scratch in every way, mentally, physically, health, education. At least SK isn't asking others for donation to help pay for this.
-He gave a big jab to Kim Jung Il's chin with this announcement indirectly. It shows everyone SK knows what everyone else knows. NK is teetering on the verge of collapse. Some say it would've collapsed if the stupid sunshine policy by DJ wasn't enacted.
-It exposed that the MinJuDang (leader is Park Ji Won) is proxy for NK. Seriously this Park said in news conference how he was offended by this announcement. He basically asked, is LMB saying SK will absolve NK in for reunification. I mean is there any other way? Does he really believe a reunification where leadership of SK and NK can coexist as equal partners?
AND TOM
Shxt the xxxx up! US troops should stay in ROK until China is no longer a communist nation.
7:03 am on August 19th, 2010 12
The funny thing is, Tom… The norK's (along with Russia, China and Japan) have publicly stated that IF reunification were to occur they would like to maintain a US military presence on the peninsula. Looks like even your retarded brother KJI is a wee bit smarter than you.
I other words, how 'bout dem apples?
Poor Tom, another shattered dream. Reality is such a bitch.
10:05 am on August 19th, 2010 13
I highly doubt NK will collapse anytime soon. China wants them there too much and would never go for a pro-US democratic country so close to its borders. When / If NK starts fracturing China would step in and prevent it from re-unifying. If the fracturing is because of weak central leadership then the senior NK military members would conduct a coup with China backing whomever wanted to play ball with them. If there was a peasant uprising that the NK's couldn't put down, China would ~lend~ military power to "control" the situation.
Personally I believe the next guy in charge will be much more pro-western then his father. Maybe not peaceful lets-all-get-along niceness but at least polite enough to work towards economic gain for his own country.
9:13 pm on August 19th, 2010 14
Leon LaPorte 12, please substantiate your claim that the Norks, Russia, and China have publicly stated that if reunification were to occur they would like to maintain a US military presence on the peninsula.
4:00 am on August 22nd, 2010 15
Glans, it was widely reported in the press that Kim Daejung had said that Kim Jong-il had confided such a thing to him.
KJI is no doubt worried about a Chinese takeover.
I can't say anything about what the Chinese or the Russians want. In fact, I think China would oppose any US troops in the former DPRK, which may be one of the reasons they are blocking reunification.
6:48 am on August 22nd, 2010 16
I wish I could find it but it was as K said. When I have more time I'll attempt to find a source. But doesn't it make you feel all funny inside?
9:50 am on August 22nd, 2010 17
kushibo 15 and Leon LaPorte 16: Come on! From previous comments, I know that you two have brains. Please show me some evidence better than "it was widely reported" that one Kim said that the other Kim "confided such a thing". And I guess we're quietly dropping the idea that Russia and China want us to stay in Korea.
4:35 pm on August 22nd, 2010 18
"I wish I could find it but it was as K said."
What?
4:37 pm on August 22nd, 2010 19
"You know, North Korea situation is far worse than East Germany, and South Korea is weaker than West Germany." – Kim Dae Jung
6:38 pm on August 22nd, 2010 20
That's ok. A united Korea will still be a better place to live than most of the countries out there. Korea doesn't need to be as strong as Germany to survive an unavoidable unification. Korea has some set of its own insurance setups put in place to rehabilitate itself, like the foreign exchange reserves, domestic reserves, the newly proposed unification savings, low debt, stable finance, strong military force, high economic and technological growth potential, and also US and Japanese backing who cannot afford a united Korea to fall.
6:42 pm on August 22nd, 2010 21
Sorry "K" I meant Kushibo.
#17, ok here you go. Is the Washington Post acceptable (have to pay for the entire article)
South Korean Says North Wants U.S. Troops to Stay; Summit Declaration Called 'a Great Relief'
[FINAL Edition]
The Washington Post – Washington, D.C.
Author: Doug Struck
Date: Aug 30, 2000
Start Page: A.01
Section: A SECTION
Text Word Count: 1217
North Korean leader Kim Jong Il has said it is "desirable" that U.S. troops stay on the Korean peninsula and that he dispatched a "high-level envoy" to convey that message to the United States several years ago, according to South Korean President Kim Dae Jung.
In an interview today, Kim Dae Jung said he was "surprised" by the North Korean leader's comments on U.S. troops, made during their historic summit meeting June 13-15. "This brought a great relief to me," Kim Dae Jung said. "I believe this is one of the most significant outcomes of the summit."
Privately, North Korea has long hinted at more flexibility on the issue. Kim Dae Jung returned from the summit in Pyongyang, the North Korean capital, and reported that Kim Jong Il showed an "understanding" of the South Korean's argument on the need for the troops. But Kim Jong Il's full comments, as related by his summit partner, only now reveal the depth of that opinion.
7:29 pm on August 22nd, 2010 22
Leon #21 – that was before KJI had the stroke and forgot everything except where his stash of Chivas Regal is…
8:14 pm on August 22nd, 2010 23
"North Korean leader Kim Jong Il has said it is “desirable” that U.S. troops stay on the Korean peninsula"
Hmmm… makes sense to me.
Without a peninsula infested with imperialist running dog jackal bastards and their South Korean puppet lackey stooges threatening their gangster war of aggression, North Korean citizens might start asking about food.
10:52 pm on February 26th, 2011 24
Korean leaders who are responsible for
the unification should learn from the
experience of the German Unification and
the Yemen unification and proceed.
Vive la korea
10:17 am on February 27th, 2011 25
S. Venkateshwaran, Many of the people in East Germany & I'm sure the people of both North & South Yemen knew about the reality in the world but most of the people of North Korea have a totally warped view of the world so the example of the Yemeni & German unification wont work. Also the difference between the living standards of both countries are far more extreme. Once Korean unification occurs it will take many decades to bring the NK populace of to the SK living standard.