Across the great divide

I've never been hugged by a General before... but a few days ago that was my experience as we stood on the northern border of South Korea looking across the demilitarized zone and into North Korea. The General himself was our host for lunch, and our guide, as we visited an observation post on the border. That certainly made getting through checkpoints pretty easy. We were treated once more as VIPs.
It was part of a three-day tour around the area including Seoraksan National Park which provided us with some stunning scenery and many unforgettable experiences, as well as hundreds of photographs. But having returned to Seoul a few days ago and being able to reflect on the whole trip it was perhaps that visit to the border which has left the strongest impression on me. Of course, I knew that Korea was a divided country, technically still at war, but I had not really grasped the heartache that this brings to many Koreans whose families have been torn apart for more than a generation.
Not everyone in Korea wants re-unification, though, and there are certainly fierce disagreements about how to go about trying to achieve it, even if it were possible (which it is not at the moment.) But it is as if the Korean people have been caught on a geopolitical fault line where the 'tectonic plates' of opposing ideologies and values are being pushed up against each other.
There are a number of such spots around the world; the most obvious one being in Israel/Palestine.
With the advent of nuclear weapons the fear is that any 'volcanic' eruption in any of these fault zones will prove to be catastrophic for the whole planet.
Our South Korean guests urged us to pray for their divided nation. Our visit to the border has made such urging unnecessary as I could not help but be deeply moved by the whole situation and, as there is little of practical value that I can do in that situation, prayer seems the only option left.
Returning to my encounter with the General, I have to say no one could have been more courteous, gracious, friendly or welcoming... but I wouldn't ever want to be his enemy!