The article says:

The south Korean Ministry of Unification, in its working plan for the new year submitted to the president some time ago, announced that it would make preparations for "unification by absorption" from the year 2011.

According to a recent poll in south Korea, the Ministry of Unification takes the first place in "what should be removed" and the second place in "what has nothing to do". The result indicates that the ministry's policy towards the north and its performance have failed to receive public favor.

Hyon studied and obtained a doctorate in political science in the U.S. For this academic career, he is recognized as a pro-U.S. element admiring the U.S. "democratic politics" and "view of human rights".

The U.S. support played a big part in his taking office as minister.

His stand concerning the nuclear issue on the Korean peninsula is exactly the same with the U.S. position.

For the sake of its strategic interests, the U.S. does not want the improvement of relations between the north and the south of Korea, to say nothing of its reunification. Hence, the U.S., in response to the DPRK's offering for the improvement of bilateral ties, has taken a position that it will never discuss the issue unless the DPRK gives up nuclear arms first.

It is unrealistic to urge the DPRK to give up nuclear arms first in the settlement of the Korean peninsula's nuclear issue with a complicated historical background. If the U.S. insists on this position, the issue will be an impossible thing.

Lee Myung Bak's election platform -- "denuclearization, opening and 3 000" -- was suggested by Hyon, who was active as one of Lee's foreign policy advisers, following the U.S. policy.

The "credit" for deteriorated relations between the north and the south goes to Hyon sharing the same position with the U.S.

The international community is of the opinion that the north and the south of the peninsula should achieve a peaceful reunification through sincere negotiations.

But Hyon is not interested in the way of reunifying the country through negotiations based on an equal footing. He asserts that the country should be unified through "collapse" of the DPRK government and its absorption and that, for this purpose, the Ministry of Unification should be "Ministry of Absorption".

He, attached to the mode of the German reunification, has zealously spread the "theory on the DPRK's possible collapse", pinning his hope to "change" within the DPRK. He also insists that south Korea should take a positive step to promote the change and unify the country through "absorption".

Many south Koreans are suspicious of the afore-mentioned plan, viewing it as unrealistic.