Moon calls for 'welcoming Kim Jong-un'

The South Korean president met the leaders of the five parties present in Parliament to discuss a declaration of good will towards the North Korean dictator. The historic visit of the "Young Marshal" to Seoul is expected before the end of the year. But South Koreans are divided.

Seoul (AsiaNews) – South Korean President Moon Jae-in has asked the leaders of the five parties in Parliament to sign a welcome declaration for the dictator of the North, Kim Jong-un.

According to the agreement reached during the historic summit in Panmunjon, the latter is expected to visit the South before the end of 2018.

The date has not yet been set because South Korea is waiting to see if and when the leaders of the United States and North Korea hold their summit.

During his meeting with party officials Moon said he hoped that everyone would agree to the declaration in a non-partisan spirit. The meeting lasted three hours.

“On the issue of whether North Korean leader Kim will make the reciprocal visit to Seoul as agreed, the president said [the preparations] are underway,” noted Hong Young-pyo, floor leader of the ruling Democratic Party.

Representative Kim Kwan-young, floor leader of the Bareunmirae Party, added that he “would like to have the National Assembly issue a welcoming statement” for the North Korean leader, but the issue should be discussed in the Assembly.

Moon’s meeting with the floor leaders of the five parties came after the President’s Office and the parties agreed in August to hold such a consultation once every three months in an attempt to reach middle ground on a wide range of policy differences.

In yesterday's meeting, they prepared a plan to scrap excessive business regulations and expand child benefits to boost the birthrate. They also agreed to crack down on drink driving and filming people secretly without their consent.

Peace on the Korean Peninsula remains however the thorniest issue on Moon's political agenda. Surveys show that most South Koreans are split over the issue. On the one hand, there are those who are in favour of rapprochement with North Korea, especially among Democratic Party voters; on the other, conservatives fear the repercussions, above all on the economy.

Comparison with the two Germanys are flawed. North Korea’s economy cannot be compared with that of East Germany, which was based on heavy industry built through Soviet aid.

Integrating North Korea’s workers into South Korea’s economy is not conceivable, given the huge gap in knowledge, skills and business model.

The Catholic Church is also divided. Some call for including North Koreans in society, but for a significant number, opening the borders and removing US troops in Korea would be "a disaster".

• korea
• north
• south
• united states
• economy
• unification
• moon jae-in
• kim jong-un
• catholic church