North-South Economic Gap Widening
"Responsible for Establishing a Peace Regime"
[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Min-young] Asahi Shimbun, a leading progressive daily newspaper in Japan, called for Japan's active involvement in peace on the Korean Peninsula while mentioning responsibility for colonial rule.
On the 20th, Asahi Shimbun published an editorial on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the simultaneous UN membership of South and North Korea, mentioning the responsibility for the economic gap between the two Koreas and North Korea's isolation.
The newspaper cited the Bank of Korea, stating that the per capita gross national income gap between South and North Korea has widened to 27 times, and asked, "Will the division of the Korean Peninsula become fixed as it is?"
It went on to point out that the relationship between the United States and China, which has a great political and economic influence on both Koreas, has fallen into a tense situation called a "new Cold War," indicating that the environment surrounding the Korean Peninsula is undergoing significant changes.
Asahi analyzed that while South Korea has established diplomatic relations with Russia and China, North Korea has not realized normalization of relations with the United States and Japan, deepening its sense of isolation, and emphasized, "Although the parties involved in the Korean Peninsula issue are South and North Korea, active involvement of the US, China, as well as Japan and Russia is essential to establish permanent peace."
It then argued, "In particular, Japan has an unfortunate past of colonial rule over the Korean Peninsula," and "Japan must not forget the fact that it bears great responsibility in creating a peace regime in this region."
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