A decades-old popular Korean song about wishing reunification of the Koreas has been banned in North Korea, Radio Free Asia reported Friday, citing sources from the reclusive country.

According to the sources, the song “Our wish,” known in the North as “Our Wish is Unification” has been banned under orders from its leader Kim Jong-un.

Kim’s orders reportedly described the reason behind the ban as “Our (country’s) wish is no longer unification, but to become a military power.”

“Kim regime has been telling the people that unification is not something to beg for, but one that is automatically achieved when (North Korea) becomes a military power via nuclear weapons,” the source was quoted as saying.

“Our wish” was released in 1947 as Korea -- liberated from Japanese colonialism in 1945 -- was heading for division due to ideological divisions. Originally only sung in South Korea, it was popularized in the North after then-university student Lim Su-kyung’s controversial 1989 visit to the North.

The song was sung during the landmark first inter-Korea Summit in 2000 by then-leaders of South and North Korea Kim Dae-jung and Kim Jong-il, the father of Pyongyang’s incumbent leader.

Sources said that North Korean citizens are having doubts about young Kim’s will toward reunification. Both governments have emphasized reunification as one of their main goals, each having a government branch devoted to the purpose.

While the latest news puts the North’s resolve for unification under questions, reports have indicated that the citizen’s desire for reunification may be diminishing in the South as well.

Last year’s survey by the Institute for Peace and Unification Studies at Seoul National University showed that 51 percent of the respondents said was unification was necessary, down 55.8 percent from the year before.

Among 20-somethings and 30-somethings, just 30.7 percent and 36.2 percent saw the need for a united Korea.

The report also showed an overall negative perception of the Kim regime, with 71.3 percent saying that negotiations with Pyongyang were unfeasible. 

By Yoon Min-sik
(minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com)