The Goal In Korea should not be Unification

-Source-The Conversation- Last week the world witnessed a first tangible step toward a peaceful prosperous Korean peninsula. On April 27 2018 Kim Jong Un became the first North Korean leader to step foot in South Korea where he was welcomed by South Korean President Moon Jae-in. A few days later the South Korean government reported that Kim had promised to give up his nuclear arsenal under certain conditions. While some viewed the summit with skepticism and issued reminders about Kims villainous past others began talking of a unified Korea a reasonable reaction considering that the leaders signed a document called the Panmunjom Declaration for Peace Prosperity and Unification of the Korean Peninsula. The intentions of these two leaders is key. For while Donald Trump and Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin may tweet and hold meetings it is the nearly 80 million Koreans who will determine the future of how they will share their peninsula. As scholars who study Japan Korea and East Asia we know that the Cold War" has always been hot" in Asia. Thats why we suggest the focus now should be on forging new ties with North Korea. The question of how South Korea and North Korea will merge can be left for the future. To understand why its helpful to remember why Korea was split into two countries in the first place.