Park seeds 'peace' in the DMZ

[unhappycamper]

http://atimes.com/atimes/Korea/KOR-01-120214.html



Park seeds 'peace' in the DMZ
By Alec Forss and Sangsoo Lee
Feb 12, '14

The South Korean government hopes to improve relations with North Korea through a "peace park" project that peacefully uses the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). In spite of significant obstacles to doing so, now may represent a good juncture to at least initiate discussions with Pyongyang.

With hundreds of thousands of troops ranged against each other along its 250-kilometer length, the DMZ between North and South Korea, which roughly follows the 38th parallel, along with its maritime extension, the Northern Limit Line, has been the most visible site of hostility between the two Koreas for over six decades.

South Korean President Park Geun-hye, emphasizing the importance of trust-building efforts to enhance inter-Korean relations and promote the elusive hope of unification, aims to transform the 4-kilometer wide, heavily mined buffer separating North and South Korea - or at least a part of it - into an interface of cooperation rather than antagonism.

On the occasion of Korea's Liberation Day on August 15 last year, President Park proposed to North Korea that the two countries combine efforts to build a "peace park" - entailing jointly utilizing the DMZ in a peaceful way.
Backing up such a vision with money, on January 2, 2014, South Korea's National Assembly earmarked 30.2 billion won (US$28.7 million) for the project - in spite of this being 10 billion won less than requested by the Ministry of Unification - and last week the government further affirmed that it would push for a deal with North Korea.