Do we need a North-South Korean Imbroglio today?

A few days back I was talking to a citizen of South Korea, and she told me how South Koreans have been living in a state of fear because of their neighbour in the North.The war between North and South Korea has never really come to a halt after the end of the North-South conflict in 1953. Since then, there have been sporadic instances of violence from across the Demilitarised Zone or the DMZ. However, the recent incident of the sinking of a South Korean warship allegedly by North Korea increased tensions between the neighbours. The matter has worsened with the recent shelling of the South Korean Island of Yeonpyeong resulting in the death of two soldiers and the wounding of many more.

The ripples of the North-South Korean tension have jolted the Sensex, back in India driving it down by 600 points, although it did recover somewhat! Today, we, in India are quite familiar with South Korea, what with the Hyundai brand being popular in India for cars ( I incidentally drive a Hyundai)!Thus, it is clear that we, in India will not benefit from a North-South Korean imbroglio!

North Korea is incidentally a country still following a form of Communism, and today there seems to be a leadership transition phase going on. When I was in my teens, I remember that the leader of North Korea was Kim IL Sung. He was followed by Kim Jong IL, the Great Leader’s son. Today, North Korea is yet to open itself to the outside world. North Korea has an ambitious Nuclear programme which might be used for developing Nuclear Weapons. Unfortunately, the Nuclear programme might not be benefitting the common man in North Korea. It is high time North Korea did more to improve the standard of living of the common man, and not just adopt pressure tactics to hold the world at ransom!  With the world recovering from recession, we just don’t want a North-South Korean conflict at this stage!North-Korea’s making missiles that can hit Japan, or even South Korea is not be a desirable option for the whole world today! The tactics adopted by North-Korea is meant to pressurise USA and the whole world, because in light of the Iraq incident, it means that the North-Korean regime is afraid of the USA! The task before the UN Security Council is to defuse tensions between the two neighbouring countries and to make North Korea see the light of reason, that the best option is co-existence with its neighbour, and the whole world! India which is a few weeks away from taking up a non-permanent seat in the UN Security Council Seat should take up a mature stance to help bring a compromise between the two countries. India is vying for a permanent seat in the UN Security Council and this is the time when it can prove its worth!