Monument in Pyongyang, North Korea
The
Arch of Reunification
, officially the
Monument to the Three-Point Charter for National Reunification
,
[1]
was a sculptural
arch
located south of
Pyongyang
, the capital of
North Korea
. It was opened in August 2001 to commemorate
Korean reunification
proposals put forward by
Kim Il Sung
.
[2]
[3]
Made of
concrete
, the arch straddled the multi-laned
Reunification Highway
leading from Pyongyang to the
Korean Demilitarized Zone
. The arch appeared on postage stamps issued in 2002, 2015, 2016, and 2021. The monument was demolished in January 2024.
[4]
History
[
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]
North Korea broke ground for the monument on 14 August 1999. It initially aimed to finish the arch by 15 August 2000, marking the 55th anniversary of
Korea's liberation from Japan
.
[5]
The original plan was to have a 55-metre pillar with three branches to represent Koreans in the north, the south, and overseas.
[1]
In July 2000, the Korean-American website
Minjok Tongshin
reported North Korea would change the location and design of the monument, supposedly because it received more support and commemorative bricks from South Korea than expected. According to
NK News
, North Korea's decision reportedly came shortly after the
2000 inter-Korean summit
. On November 2000, the website published the first image of the arch's final design. The monument was completed by August 2001;
Rodong Sinmun
, the newspaper of the ruling
Workers' Party of Korea
(WPK), described it as a "grand monument to the 10,000-year grand plan of the era of the Workers’ Party of Korea."
[5]
Demolition
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]
In December 2023, during his remarks at a Plenum of the WPK's Central Committee,
Kim Jong Un
accused South Korea of becoming a "forward military base and nuclear arsenal" of the United States amid increased U.S. drills and deployment of some military assets near the
Korean peninsula
.
[6]
At that time Kim announced that he had ruled out the possibility of reunification with South Korea through peaceful means and that North Korea must fundamentally change
its relations with South Korea
.
[6]
North Korea ultimately vowed to launch three new
spy satellites
, build
military drones
and boost
its nuclear arsenal
by 2024.
[6]
In January 2024, Kim called for the destruction of the Arch of Reunification, in a further step towards abandoning the goal of peaceful reunification.
[7]
In a speech at the
Supreme People's Assembly
on 15 January of that year, Kim called the monument an "eyesore" and, according to official media, ordered
the constitution
be amended to say the South was a "primary foe and invariable principal enemy".
[8]
The arch was demolished some time between 19 and 23 January 2024, according to
satellite imagery
.
[9]
[8]
The news that the Arch of Reunification had been demolished was confirmed by the
Ministry of Unification
of South Korea on 24 January 2024.
[10]
Design
[
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]
The arch consisted of two Korean women in traditional dress (
chos?n-ot
), symbolizing the North and the South,
[2]
leaning forward to jointly uphold a sphere bearing a map of a
reunified Korea
. The sphere is the emblem of the Three Charters: the
Three Principles of National Reunification
, the
Plan of Establishing the Democratic Federal Republic of Korea
, and the
Ten Point Programme for Reunification of the Country
. The arch's lower part featured bronze
bas-reliefs
on both sides showing
independence movement
scenes. The
plinth
of the structure was engraved with messages of support for reunification and peace from various individuals, organizations, and nations. The arch was completed at the height of the so-called
Sunshine Policy
, a South Korean government effort to reduce the risk of conflict between the two states and reconcile with the North. The width of Arch of Reunification, 61.5 metres, was a reference to the
June 15th North?South Joint Declaration
of 2000, and its height at 30 meters, a reference to the
Three Principles of National Reunification
.
[11]
References
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]
External links
[
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]