The two Koreas have yet to agree on their sea border more than 50 years after the end of their 1950-53 war. Instead, they rely on a line that the then-commander of U.N. forces, which fought for the South, drew unilaterally at the end of the conflict.
Conservatives in South Korea have long considered the Northern Limit Line, or NLL, an unquestionable sea border. But liberals have increasingly viewed it as a major source of military tension on the divided peninsula, and an obstacle impeding true reconciliation with Pyongyang.
The division came to the fore when Lee said earlier this month that he believed the sea border was not formally set, and that the nation should "reflect on" a 2002 naval skirmish with the North in terms of how best to maintain security.
What exactly is the point of giving in to North Korea on the sea border? If the South Korean government believes that such a gesture will satisfy North Korean border demands, they're seriously deluded. North Korea does not accept the legal existence of South Korea, period. Any concession will just be another way point on the goal of pushing the South Koreans to the Pusan Perimeter (figuratively, of course).
South Korean leadership might want to seriously reflect on that inconvenient North Korean outlook.
