CORD leader Raila Odinga calls for unification of South and North Korea

CORD leader Raila Odinga has called on the international community to work towards the unification of South and North Korea to create one nation.

Addressing a conference in Seoul, South Korea on Thursday, Raila called on the Republic of South Korea to use its growing economic and political might in the Korean Peninsula to create a region that is “less vulnerable to the changes of the times and errors of the past.”

“The Republic of Korea needs to embark on building alliances and partnerships with the regional and global community that should end in the unification of the two Koreas” Raila said at the Global Forum on the Role of Republic of Korea in Sustainable Development.

He said the two Koreas share a common history and language and they have families across the divide which should make the move towards unification easy.

Raila called on the two countries to focus on building mutual trust and mutually beneficial political relations while exploiting unifying cultural relations.

Opening economic cooperation with the immediate neighbor to the North, under clearly defined and mutually beneficial rules, will foster a more future-oriented and multi-faceted partnership in the Asia-Pacific region and beyond, Raila said.

The former PM said unity of the Koreas will give them a stronger voice and presence at the UN Security Council and enable them make positive and effective contributions in the process of resolving crisis like that in Syria. He called on the two countries reduce the number of preconditions and engage in sincere dialogue.

Raila, accompanied by Kisii Governor Mr Evans Ongwae, arrived in Seoul, Korea yesterday for a conference and meeting with Korean investors. He will be joined later today by Turkana Gover Josephat Nanok.

They are scheduled to meet the President of Korea International Cooperation Agency Mr. Young Mok Kim .