North-South Korea Unification Not Harder Than Fall of Berlin Wall

Iranian lawmakers have welcomed the prospects for de-escalation of tension in the Korean peninsula after the two Koreas held their first talks in two years, adding that the unification of the two states is not more difficult than the fall of the Berlin wall.

"Those familiar with the East Asian culture know that the strong ethnic bond between peoples of this region means that they would not be separated easily," Mohsen Kouhkan told ICANA on Sunday.

North and South Korea held talks for the first time in two years last week, and Pyongyang says it will send athletes across the border to the Winter Olympics, due to be held in February, Reuters reported.

The two sides have also agreed on negotiations to resolve problems and "military talks" aimed at averting accidental conflict, with South Korean leader Moon Jae-in saying he would be "open" to see his North Korean counterpart, Kim Jong Un.

Kouhkan said he believes the expansion of ties would benefit the two countries.

"If the tensions between the two Koreas are resolved, the South's development and prosperity would spread to the North, and the culture of independence and resistance on the North's part would spread to the South," he said.    

He also blamed the US military presence in the region as one of the main obstacles in the way of reaching a long-lasting peace deal, saying South Korea's dependence on the US militancy would reduce its deal-making clout in peace talks.

"The Americans are [in the region] to sell their arms and create a [military] base in this part of the world. Their interests lie in protracted tension between the North and South," Kouhkan said. Echoing that view, lawmaker Abolfazl Hassanbeigi described the North and South Koreas as "one nation in the form of two governments."

"The North's strong military combined with the South's developments in the economy would create an even stronger nation after unification," he said.

"But of course Washington does not like that since it would have no justification for staying in that part of the world anymore," he concluded.