Can K-pop bridge the divide between the two Koreas? South Korea’s unification minister thinks so

“Especially emphasising hostility in inter-Korean relations is seen as serving the purpose of deflecting internal discontent arising from economic hardship and food shortages in North Korea outwards,” said Mr Kim, an outspoken critic of human rights abuses in North Korea.

“Furthermore, emphasising this hostility is also for the purpose of justifying North Korea’s distortion of resources to develop nuclear weapons and missiles.”

He noted that within Pyongyang, there seems to be discord after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un announced in January that he is abandoning reunification, which had been the goal of Kim Il Sung – his grandfather and the founder of North Korea – and his father Kim Jong Il.

“The North Korean regime is moving to erase the legacies of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il. The Kim Jong Un regime is a hereditary dictatorship, standing on the achievements of the previous leaders, Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il,” said Minister Kim. 

“However, if they decide to dismantle the three great principles of national reunification and simply treat them as memorials, it could create ideological confusion or a void within the North Korean elite circle.”

The three principles call for reunification to be achieved independently of other forces, to be achieved through peaceful means, and by transcending differences. They were agreed between the two Koreas in their first-ever joint agreement in 1972.