Who Really Wants Reunification?

This article, Many Students Believe US Big Barrier to Unification, records some seemingly contradictory views on reunification among Korean students:

"According to the opinion poll conducted by the Advisory Council on Democratic and Peaceful Unification, 49.1 percent of respondents said among four surrounding powers _ the U.S., China, Russia and Japan _ the U.S. is the biggest barrier to national reunification.... However, more than seven out of 10 supported the continued presence of U.S. Forces Korea here."

Robert Koehler of The Marmot's Hole gives an excellent anaylisis of the politics of reunification in the recentOhmyNews write-up about him, Out of Africa and Into Andong:

"Another thing progressives need to do is cut the unification talk. The North Korea policies of the last two South Korean administrations have been aimed at preventing or putting off unification, not bringing it about. I'm not saying this is wrong, by the way; I live in Seoul, so the prospects of sudden unification - especially if it's accompanied by war - are not what we'd call assuring. But the rhetoric of unification makes rational political dialogue difficult, if not impossible. And it goes without saying that referring to the conservatives as "anti-unification" is particularly unhelpful, especially when one considers that the policies they support are designed to hasten unification, not postpone it. Whether or not those policies would be successful - or result in a favorable outcome even if they were - is beside the point."