(MENAFN- Asia Times) North Korea has demolished the Arch of Reunification, a monument that symbolized hope for reconciliation with the South. The decision to demolish the monument came shortly after the regime's leader, Kim Jong UN, delivered a speech declaring it an“eyesore.”
In the same speech, Kim said that the peaceful reunification of the two Koreas, which have remained divided since August 1945, was no longer possible and called for an amendment to the North Korean constitution to reflect South Korea's status as his country's“principal enemy.”
Unveiled in 2001, the Arch of Reunification featured two Korean women wearing traditional dresses – called hanbok (한복“Korean clothes”) in South Korea and chosŏn-ot (조선옷“Korean clothes”) in the North. The women jointly held up an image of the unified Korean peninsula, reflecting the North Korean government's genuine desire at the time to reunify the two countries.
This is not the first time North Korea has destroyed symbols of Korean cooperation, dialogue and hope for unification. In June 2020, North Korea recorded and released footage of it blowing up a joint liaison office with South Korea near the border town of Kaesong. The site was opened to help the two countries communicate.
The following year, in August 2021, North Korea severed the Inter-Korean hotline – a series of over 40 telephone lines that connect North and South Korea – in protest against military drills jointly undertaken by South Korea and the US. Kim did, however, restore the hotlines two months later and urged Seoul to step up efforts to improve relations.
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