But today the U.S. finds itself entangled in the bitter rivalry between the two Koreas.
When other joint projects failed, this toehold on a better future for the two Koreas remained.
Japan stated Monday that it was pleased to see political links between the Koreas being forged.
What's more, there are other signs that both Koreas want to improve the relationship.
So why not simply leave the two Koreas to sort out their problems between themselves?
Typically, they are allowed to go into the meeting rooms as soldiers from both Koreas stand guard.
The two Koreas remain technically at war because the 1950-53 conflict ended in an armistice, not a treaty.
Yet economic co-operation between the two Koreas has already improved significantly and looks like continuing to do so.
The general feeling is not worry or war but that maybe now the two Koreas can be reunited.
Koreas conglomerates are cutting back on capital spending, and theres no safety net for factory workers comparable with ours.
The two Koreas continue to have at least two working channels of communication between their militaries and aviation authorities.
Koreas banks didnt implode, but their bad loans still stand on the books.
That implies an interest in how the two Koreas, with their vastly different conditions, can co-exist and cooperate peacefully.
If the two Koreas are reunited, he says, it will take more than a generation to integrate their people.
That makes it the only big power with friendly ties to both Koreas.
The current conflict between the Koreas illustrates a broader global trend toward chaos along borders separating rich and poor countries.
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Since the summit in June, the two Koreas have taken steps towards reconciliation, including an exchange visit of separated families.
Only as the clock ticked near midnight, for example, did the Administration belatedly realize how dire South Koreas situation had become.
Ties between the two Koreas chilled considerably under Lee Myung-bak over his move to link aid to concessions on the nuclear issue.
The Yellow Sea is a longstanding flash point between the two Koreas.
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That is significant, given that the two Koreas remain technically at war.
Military ministers for the two Koreas will meet in Pyongyang on Friday.
And all the time business between the two Koreas continues as usual.
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Relations between the two Koreas are tense - they remain technically at war following the 1950-53 Korean conflict, which ended in an armistice.
In a region with an already awkward balance between America, China, Japan and Russia, the thaw between the Koreas has set everyone scrambling.
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But he scored points by appearing extra-solicitous with his counterpart, behavior that is valued in the deeply Confucian traditional culture of both Koreas.
South Korea's Defense Ministry said Tuesday it had received no such ultimatum officially, noting that there is no communications line between the two Koreas.
Operations at the complex, which has remained open through previous periods of heightened tensions between the two Koreas, appeared unaffected by this latest strain.
The two Koreas remain technically at war, because an armistice was signed at the end of the 1950-53 Korean conflict, rather than a peace deal.
It said that would help North Korea start to reform its economy, which is in a dire state, and ease tensions between the two Koreas.
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