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Hwang said reunification can be discussed in 15 to 20 years if North Korea opens its doors and carries out reforms as China did, and if South Korean funds and engineers are allowed access.
"Opening and reform after the Chinese model are tantamount to getting rid of absolute rule and introducing the market economy. If this happens, North Korea's living standards would improve dramatically within 15 years, and there will be nothing to worry about" when reunification comes.
"It is China in the end that decides Kim Jong-il's fate. South Korea must sign a free trade pact with China to draw China and North Korea apart," he said. "At the moment, no Chinese leaders think favorably of Kim Jong-il."
He blamed the "Sunshine Policy" for the slow pace of change in the North. "When I left, I predicted that North Korea would not survive for another five years. But the prospects have darkened" due to the policy of engagement.
South Korea "should help the 23 million North Koreans as citizens of the Republic of Korea. But helping Kim Jong-il, a national traitor, will only result in strengthening the armor of his dictatorship," he said.