통일정책과 북한인권 문제

Korean Unification and Human Rights in North Korea

It is time for the people of Korea to take a fresh look at the human rights situation in North Korea in the context of unification of the country. Human rights in North Korea has two major implications for unification of a divided Korea. First, the ROK’s economic accomplishments and its fundamental freedoms must survive unification. Second, unification must ensure that North Koreans enjoy the economic well-being and personal freedoms enjoyed by South Koreans. There is a misconception that German unification in 1990 was a product of negotiation. In fact, West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl’s 10-point formula for German unification did not call for negotiation with East Germany. Instead, he demanded that East Germany transition to a “democratic state” that featured a “genuinely freely held elections participated in by a plurality of political parties.” It was only after East Germany held a democratic general election in March 1990 that West Germany entered into negotiations with it on the constitution of a unified Germany. The negotiation led to German unification through absorption of East Germany by the West. German unification was a process in which the people of East Germany, individually and as a nation, regained the fundamental freedoms and rights guaranteed under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948.