On the Korean peninsula the government in the south has a stated aim of eventual re-unification with the Stalinist north, as a result of this unification policy, the south goes to great lengths to avoid offending the north, presumably, this charm offensive is designed to win friends north of the 38th parallel ensuring a favorable attitude toward reunification. This policy has created a climate of appeasement in South Korea as the government refuses to speak out with regard to the North’s nuclear program or its blatant human rights abuses. This policy has become so entrenched that a majority of South Korean youth now view the north as an ally and the US as an enemy. Only, this week, the “friendly” North Koreans vowed to strike first in a conflict with the US, claiming to have missiles capable of reaching the western shores of the United States. North Korea continues to violate international and bilateral agreements on nuclear weapons, claiming such weapons are needed to fend off an eminent invasion, taking a cue from Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez.

In realty a conflict between the North and the United States would not come unless initiated by the Koreans. The US has no incentive to engage the north in armed conflict, furthermore, the South can’t be trusted in the event of a conflict and even if they could, with South’s major population centers so close to the North Korean border, casualties among the civilian population would be exceedingly high, causing major hardships across Asia and having a drastic affect on the global economy.

North Korea is a nation that thrives on deception; the totalitarian regime in Pyongyang is notorious for its lies and duplicity. The south, in ignoring Kim Jong Il’s abuses is doing itself a disservice and playing into his hands. Just today a recent North Korean defector revealed that the tyrannical regime in the North kills infants who are born with physical or mental disabilities. "There are no people with physical defects in North Korea," Dr. Ri Kwang-chol told a South Korean audience. So complete is the brainwashing of Korean youth that Ri’s assertions are all but ignored. The Seoul government has gone out of its way to avoid offending the north, to the point where Dr. Ri’s warnings will most certainly go unheeded. The South’s “don’t rock the boat” policy will ensure that thousands more will die. Indeed, there may come a time when the Korean peninsula may be reunified, but it may very well come at the expense of individual liberty and representative government.
http://reuters.myway.com/article/20060322/2006-03-22T123122Z_01_SEO27580_RTRIDST_0_NEWS-KOREA-NORTH-RIGHTS-DC.html