Hardliners on both sides dream of absorbing the other side through military conquest or inner collapse, but this is unlikely. Mutual isolation is likely as people are accustomed to it, but undesirable. The most promising approach involves a series of steps leading to economic interaction between North and South Korea, and ultimately to political cooperation and security. These would require some changes in attitude. For example, South Korean students advocating contact with the North have been ignored and treated like criminals, but experience in Eastern Europe and the Philippines has shown that a nonviolent response can be far more productive.
Students can make concrete proposals.
Democracy means dialogue, not only electioneering. South Koreans seem to believe they can bring a regime to its knees by withholding funds, and the government discourages South Korean industrial conglomerates from investing in North Korea. This policy has not worked in Cuba, and it will hardly work in North Korea. One promising proposal involves a regional free trade zone. The armistice line in Korea could be opened for rail and road traffic, allowing a high-speed link between Beijing and Tokyo with rapid trains passing through North and South Korea and a hydrofoil across the Korea strait.