Article September 13, 2004 Issue

KOREA AT THE CROSSROADS

by Rosalie E. Dunbar

Along the border between the two Koreas, thousands of troops wait, prepared for an attack by the enemy. This heavily guarded border can be very tense at times, but significant efforts are being made to eliminate conditions that could lead to war. So, what can be done to bring about a permanent peace?

This past July, a Chinese army battalion spent two weeks practicing the assembly of pontoon bridges on the Yalu River along China's border with North Korea. The exercise attracted much speculation: Was China trying to prod North Korea into being more amenable toward talks that aim to control North Korea's nuclear capacity? In August, the Chinese responded by saying that the troops were being trained to deal with natural disasters. Noting that China had also replaced paramilitary police with regular army troops along the border, The Age, an Australian digital newspaper, interpreted these actions as indeed aimed to get North Korea moving along toward peace.

North Korea is said to be the last outpost of the Cold War—a renegade state and a potential threat, not just to South Korea, but to world peace. The six-nation group that is working toward better relations includes China, the United States, Russia, Japan, South Korea, as well as North Korea itself. All of these countries had a presence on the Korean Peninsula long before the Korean War (1950-1953). Now they are working together to try to improve relations and to head off future conflict.

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