A united peaceful Korea in Asia

The most vital news event this past week was the historic meeting between the two leaders of North Korea and South Korea. What an incredible milestone. The world watched with bated breath as North Korea’s Kim Jong-un met with South Korea’s Moon Jae-in and the two nations took the first few steps toward a united and peaceful Korea.

They shook hands and embraced at the military demarcation in the 38th parallel after which Kim crossed the line and became the first North Korean leader to set foot in South Korea since end of the Korean War in 1953. It seemed like a dream watching it happen on the news and people around the world could hardly believe it and worried that they would wake up and find it wasn’t real.

Tensions between the two nations have been volatile at best and we all know North Korea’s history of friction with other nations of the world since cutting themselves off. Their nuclear weapons program has made everyone wary over the years and we all know that US President Donald Trump certainly did not help in that aspect by calling out Kim as the “rocket man” only to have the North Korean leader retaliate by threatening the US and Guam with nuclear war.

It was high alert time and everyone around the world worried about the implications of this heated exchange and hoped that no one would resort to pushing the button. That is another reason why this peaceful summit is such a welcome and almost unbelievable turn of events. In fact analysts remain skeptical about the agreement because it seems like such a change in North Korea’s sentiments for the past few decades. For years, Pyongyang has insisted that it would not give up its nuclear arsenal, which it has claimed is necessary to defend itself against aggressors from the US.

Seeing the “neculearization” part of the peace summit program would be an incredible breakthrough. This does not refer explicitly to North Korea halting all its nuclear activities but it does claim that the aim is a “nuclear-free Korean peninsula.” The two leaders have additionally stated that they will pursue talks with the US and China to truly and formally end the Korean War. Hopefully this will lead to a lasting peace and a halt to the tensions of the past decades.

Another question that has been on everyone’s minds is will this lead to a unified Korean peninsula? Perhaps. Time will tell on this but just the small gesture of President Moon reciprocating Kim Jong Un’s step into the South by joining him for an instance in the North is a wonderful way of showing that both leaders are open to discussion and asserting that both countries are equal in their eyes. This is a big hint at the unification that both Seoul and Pyongyang have long sought.

Indeed this is a incredible moment and one that is definitely going into the history books. At least for the moment, the world is breathing a sigh of relief and hoping this continues to lead to a more lasting and permanent peace between these two countries and their allies. North and South Korea finally coming together after all this time will change the world. Much like what happened in Europe when East and West Germany finally formed a united nation which today is the leader of the European Union. Who knows, perhaps the same thing can happen in our region – a united and peaceful Korea in our time? While it seemed far-fetched just a few months ago, today it’s definitely closer to reality.

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I think that the Sangguniang Kabataan (SB) elections, which coincide with the Barangay Elections every three years, should be scrapped. I can’t help but feel that it is a waste of time, money, and energy that could easily be used for something more important. The recently held SB elections showed a lack of interest in the youth and a very low turnout at the polls. Why should we continue pushing this initiative if no one is paying attention or if no one even cares?

If the problem is that it is in the Constitution then perhaps this needs to be amended in light of recent times. It just seems like the purpose for which the SB exists is no longer appreciated or effective. It was created so that the youth would be able to have a voice and express their concerns to the leaders in their towns who could potentially become congressional representatives in their districts. However, this has not been happening for years and the SB has recently been just another vehicle for graft and corruption among the youth and another venue for political dynasties to flourish.

In fact these elections have been postponed several times already and might have been postponed again this May if not for the fact that the ballots had already been printed. I just feel there needs to be an overhaul of these elections and these positions so that we have officials for the youth and at the barangay level that are properly empowered and not just given “titles”.

But then again, who knows how long this system will even last on a whole. The reason for the postponements was because there are several parties in our government pushing for a federal form of government, which will render the Barangay Elections and the SB unnecessary.

Personally, I don’t think this will push through though. I wrote in a previous column why I was against this switch and why I didn’t think it would be beneficial to the country. In the end, it feels like just another blatant attempt of those in power to stay in power. It’s something that our elected officials have been trying for years and it, so far, has never happened. I hope it won’t happen this time.