An international studies expert said that North Korean reform and the unification of Korea could gain momentum if South Korea guarantees that members of Pyongyang's elite receive pardons and retain their privilege, wealth and status after unification.
 
Stanford University fellow Thomas Fingar presented the opinion Thursday in a symposium on international cooperation for the unification of the Korean Peninsula, which was hosted by the Seoul-based Institute for National Security Strategy.
 
He further explained that reforms had failed in North Korea, since the members of the North Korean elite concluded that they would lose their privileges if the reforms were successful or the North was absorbed by the South.
 
Fingar added that in order to achieve peaceful unification, South Korea could promise to exempt the North Korean elite from punishment or entrust them with meaningful roles at government agencies after the two Koreas are unified.
 
Keimyung University professor Ralf Havertz insisted that the unification of the Korean Peninsula could be induced if South Korea convinces mid-ranking North Korean officials that they would receive pardons for political crimes they committed while the two Koreas were divided.