Quote:
Originally Posted by Lathdrinor
South Koreans, on the other hand, want to see their country united. It's been the dream of generations of South Koreans (and presumably North Koreans, as well). Unification won't be easy - developing North Korea, like developing East Germany, will take time - but at least it'll bring closure to this sordid chapter of Korean history and allow Koreans to move forward from where they are now. And of course, any South Korean politician who brings about peaceful unification will receive a huge popularity boost and go down in history. For that reason alone, some might be willing to take the risk.
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The economic consequences of the reunification of East Germany and West Germany is still being felt today, although not as much 20 years later.
The difference is actually pretty large between the German reunification and possible Korean reunification.
It has been written in many different articles over the years that at the time of German reunification, the GDP per capita ratio between West and East was 3 to 1.
The GDP per capita ratio between South and North Korea is 13 to 1.
The population ratio between East and West Germany at reunification was 1 to 3. The population ratio between North and South Korea currently is 1 to 2.
With such a large gap in GDP per person, and without a larger proportion of South Koreans to North Koreans in population to help buffer, the reunification of Korea right now could possibly
destroy the Korean economy, instead of just inhibiting it temporarily like the German one.
Quote:
Originally Posted by zSolaris
The vast majority of arms that North Korea possesses is in the form of short-range missiles that barely can reach into central South Korea. Yes, this is a concern mostly for Seoul. However, even their Taepodong-2 Missile cannot reach either Beijing or Tokyo (assuming it works...which it doesn't). Of course, North Korean missiles can reach into a number of major cities in Northern China which could be a major problem.
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Interesting speculation, but this part is not true.
The Taepodong-2 Missile is built to travel 5,000-6,000 km (3107-3728 miles), which could hit the western coast of the United States, as well as parts of Europe.
The missile has failed in tests, but they are still working on it.
The currently deployed North Korean long-range missile is the Nodong-1, which has a range of 1,200 km (745.6 miles), and is basically an adaption of the Soviet Scud Missle. This missile can currently hit almost anywhere in South Korea and Japan, and parts of Eastern China and Russian Siberia.
Apparently it works to some degree, because countries such as Libya and Syria buy them, and Iran and Pakistan have variants of them in their arsenal.