Springtime at the Cold War’s Last Border

It’s springtime in South Korea. Just a month ago the ground was covered in snow; today the hills are pink with cherry blossoms. Eager solar panels soak up the warm sunshine. On the mountain, wind turbines spin in the sweetly scented spring breeze. In the seaboard city of Gangneung, children’s delighted shrieks fill neighborhood parks.

Over the city, military jets scream through the sky.

The jets that thunder all day long over Gangneung are a reminder that for the past 60 years Korea has been a country divided and at war with itself. Gangneung, with its windfarm, solar panels, and cherry blossoms, lies less than 100 miles (160 km) from the Demilitarized Zone, or DMZ, the world’s last remaining Cold War border.

This week, as springtime blooms, a series of events unfolded which threaten to destabilize the delicate balance between the North and the South.

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South Korea is in the midst of its elections for National Assembly. On the streets, candidates park at intersections to campaign. They blare music and campaign slogans from loudspeakers. A team of supporters, dressed with the party’s political number (1-12), wave and perform choreographed dance routines. See this video for a firsthand view. As the country chooses a National Assembly, the following events occurred in rapid succession:

• South Korea’s newly elected president, Lee Myung-bak, threatened to stop sending financial aid to the North.
• North Korea’s government news, Nodong Sinmun, labeled President Myung-bak a “traitor” and a “sycophant toward the United States” and claimed that the South had sent warships deep into its waters.
• A South Korean General warned that the South could launch a preemptive strike to counter the possibility of a nuclear attack.
• North Korea test fired a short range missile.
• Lee Myung-bak defended his general’s words.
• North Korean President, Kim Jong-il threatened to reduce the South to “ashes“.
• By Friday, talks of disarming the North of nuclear technology had come to a grinding halt. The US sent an envoy to try and rekindle talks.

Not to worry; President Myung-bak is planning a trip to the United States. Certainly, there, US President Bush will know exactly the right words to make things better.

Needless to say, an outbreak of military violence between the two countries would be both a tragedy and a counterproductive mess on both sides. Moreover, conflict would undercut South Korea’s great strides on environmental issues such as renewable energy and recycling, not to mention human rights.

From Gangneung, South Korea, I sincerely hope that everyone can remember to appreciate the ephemeral cherry blossoms of spring and forget this dangerous flirtation with disaster.

Photo Source: Flickr

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