‘Reunification with North Korea will result in massive inflation`

Washington: For young South Koreans, it is not the level of threats or even the seeming madness of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, but fear of a heavy economic burden, that makes them resistant to the notion of a reconciliation between Seoul and Pyongyang. Koreans who have adolescent memories of a united peninsula are at least 80 years old, reports the Washington Times. A 36-year-old office worker in Seoul, Choi Wong-chul, like many others of his generation, has all but given up on a longtime dream of their parents and grandparents.

Choi does not want a reunification, as according to him, it would only create economic problems that will be too much burden for his own 4-year-old son`s generation. Choi said originally the North and South were one nation, but since they have lived apart for so long, the people in the South don`t view the people in the North as the same. According to 23-year-old Lee Seung-jae, who is a student at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies in Seoul, if the reunification does ever occur, South Korea will go through massive inflation. Lee thinks reunifying could be better in the long run, but it would be about a century from now. The threats from the government of Kim Jong-un is also privately unnerving. It`s a show that underscores just how far the prospects of a reunification have sunk since 2000, when President Kim Dae-jung was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize months after meeting with Kim Jong-un`s father, Kim Jong-il, during a historic inter-Korean summit in Pyongyang, the report said. (ANI)