Don’t forget the agony of separated families

Kee Duck-young
The author is the head of the Committee for the Five Northern Korean Provinces and the governor of Hwanghae Province.

At the plenary session of the Workers’ Party, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un unilaterally declared the breakdown of inter-Korean relations. “North-South relations are no longer fraternal or homogeneous, but are in a state of war,” he said. The remarks are a direct denial of the spirit of the 1991 Basic Agreement, which defined the two countries to be in a “special relationship tentatively formed in the process of aiming for unification, not a relationship between states.”

Kim Jong-un’s provocative remarks are too shocking to be simply interpreted as the North’s offensive before the April 10 parliamentary elections in the South, as I am also a member of a family displaced during the 1950-53 Korean War. As of the end of last year, 74 percent, or 90,000, of applicants for reunion of separated families have died. Among the surviving applicants, 84 percent, or 30,000, are in their 70s or older. The aging of the separated families waiting for the reunions is very serious.

As the number of survivors has decreased over the past 70 years of division, it is only fair to heal the pain of separation as soon as possible. However, the Kim Jong-un regime turned hostile and closed the door on dialogue for any potential discussion of the matter. The reunions of separated families — which began in 1971 through the Korean Red Cross — have been pushed forward as an urgent issue from a humanitarian point of view based on human rights, a universal value of humanity, not ideology, politics and camp logic.

While the two governments should work together and discuss reunification before it’s too late, Kim is neglecting the deep wounds of separated families in order to maintain a feudal hereditary regime for himself. I cannot help but feel furious toward the atrocities of the regime, which maximize hostilities toward South Korea and trample on the human rights of 25 million North Koreans.

The North Korean authorities denied the nation and unification at once and pushed the 10 million families from the pain of separation into the despair of separation. It is necessary to let the world know of the North’s anti-humanitarian declaration together with the international community.

But I have a question: Why are the pro-Pyongyang followers silent on Kim’s denial of national reunification? If they have sincerely called for reunification, why don’t they protest Kim’s declaration of “scrapping reunification” and issue a statement? They have always denied the founding of the nation by President Syngman Rhee. I want to ask about their true intention now. Do they really deny the reunification by force of North Korea, too?

Kim Jong-un has defined inter-Korean relations as “state-to-state” and is escalating tensions on the Korean Peninsula to their highest point by mentioning the use of nuclear weapons and war. North Korea has been taking what it wants with its typical strategy of provocation followed by negotiation, compensation and annulment. But we must clearly demonstrate that such a strategy no longer works. The government must draw up — and firmly implement — a peaceful unification policy based on the basic order of liberal democracy, as stipulated in the constitution without being swayed by any provocation by North Korea.

The Yoon Seok Yeol administration has proposed the principle of a “bold initiative” on the premise of the North’s denuclearization based on a stronger defense capability than ever and a trilateral security cooperation among South Korea, the United States, and Japan. Above all, the conservative government maintains the stance that there is no compromise in response to the North’s reckless provocation. Some 8.8 million people originally from North Korea should work together to encourage the country across the border to engage in dialogue and negotiations while supporting an unwavering North Korea policy.

The first generation of elderly people from the North defected to the South in search of freedom, leaving behind the hometowns where they’d lived for generations. They declared, “We can never live with communism.” We must not forget that the free Republic of Korea could become one of the top ten powers in the world thanks to their sacrifice and dedication. We must sincerely respect them.

Before the Lunar New Year holiday, we must not forget our North Korean brothers and sisters who still suffer from human rights abuses. The government must closely cooperate with the international community and help North Koreans become aware of their human rights. We must not spare effort and support so that they can walk toward true freedom.

Of course, the people from North Korean provinces will stand with North Korean brothers for human rights and freedom. Based on their love and patriotism for their hometowns in the North, they will defend our constitutional values of freedom, peace and unification. They will contribute to achieving the great feat of peaceful unification based on a thorough sense of security.

Translation by the Korea JoongAng Daily.