Two Koreas Closer Than Ever

North and South Korea are showing signs of becoming closer. First, the South Korean Ministry of Culture and Tourism plans to send religious representatives to North Korea. Park Ji-won, the minister of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, stated on August 14, "We are in a process of organizing the largest visit by a religious group to North Korea at Kim Jong-il's invitation." Park added, "We are also planning to send Jung Jin-suk, Seoul's archbishop, to North Korea as we prepare for the upcoming visit of Pope John Paul II to North Korea."

Park went on to say, "Kim Jong-il also indicated that he would like to invite famous South Korean pop singers such as Lee Mi-ja, Kim Serena, Cho Yong-pil, and Nam Jin to perform in Pyongyang. He especially requested that Lee Mi-ja and Kim Yun-ja perform in North Korea's Mokran Hall during the Christmas season."

Also, the two Koreas are planning to proclaim their newly established relationship to the world by entering the Olympic stadium together during the opening ceremony for the Sydney Olympics. Moreover, they are considering using the united flag, 'The Korean Peninsula flag,' and wearing the same uniforms when making their enterance. Minister Park said, Chang Woong, the commissioner of North Korea International Olympics Committee (IOC), agreed and stated, "If we march under different flags, the world will think that we are, in fact, having serious conflicts with each other. Therefore, we should definitely use the united 'Korean Peninsula flag.'"

by Kin Se-joon