A 250-km-long military demarcation line virtually divides the Korean Peninsula into two halves, but many hearts on both sides of the heavily fortified border still yearn to meet.
In and around the dimilitarised zone, better known as the DMZ, that stretches 2 km wide on each side of the dividing line, symbolism of reunification run high.
From dazzling Dorasan station, the last railway station on the South Korean side located about 650 metres from the DMZ, with its 'Unification Platform', to countless colourful ribbons tied to barbed-wire fences nearby a preserved railway engine at Imjingak, carrying messages from people in the South for the family members lost or left back in the North, the desire to reunite is palpable in the air.
On the Unification Platform, a signboard put by Korail, South Korea's national railway operator, indicates "Pyongyang 205 km- Seoul 56 km" while a huge landscaped poster showing the tracks, carries the message "Not the last station from the South. But the first station towards the North", signalling the aspiration to reconnect.
And, as South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un wrap up their historic third summit Thursday, the two leaders made gestures, indicating a push towards establishing lasting peace in the region and accelerating the process of denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula.
"From the airplane, I observed North Korea's mountains and rivers and the streets of Pyongyang from the time they appeared until we landed. No signs of division were visible at all from that point of view, Moon had tweeted Tuesday on the first day of the three-day summit.
The two leaders had hugged each other at the Sunan international airport in Pyongyang where Moon flew to from Seoul, becoming the first president to visit the North Korean capital in 11 years.
In his address at the May Day Stadium, Moon greeted people as Citizens of Pyeongyang, our brethren in the North.
"By developing inter-Korean relations in an all-embracing and groundbreaking manner, we firmly pledged to reconnect Korea's arteries and to hasten a future of common prosperity and reunification on our own terms, Moon said.
We had lived together for five thousand years but apart for just 70 years. Here, at this place today, I propose we move forward toward the big picture of peace in which the past 70-year-long hostility can be eradicated and we can become one again, he said.
During their summit, Kim agreed to make a visit to Seoul and the two leaders also agreed to create a facility to hold family reunions at any time, work towards joining up road and rail links, and mount a combined bid for the 2032 Olympics.
The desire to become one was articulated in 1983, in a song '30 Years Lost' and was used as a themes song for the show 'Search for the Dispersed Families' which was aired on KBS, a Korean channel, from June 30-November 14, 1983, to reunite families torn apart by the Korean War, fought between the two Koreas from 1950-53 before an armistice brought it to a halt.
A monument to this song has been erected at Imjingak, next to the locomotive, riddled with 1,020 bullet holes a "symbol of the tragic history of the division" into North and South Korea.
"This song is also well-known in North Korea. And, this monument stands here, waiting for the reunification of north and South Korea, the plaque next to the monument reads.
A 2017 survey by the Seoul National University Institute for Peace and Unification Studies showed 53 per cent of the South Korean respondents backed unification.
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