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Peace and Stability on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia: A Korean Perspective
Byung-Hyo Choi and Seo-Hang Lee
1995.12
Byung-Hyo Choi: Senior Policy Coordinator for Security Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Seo-Hang Lee: Research Professor and Director-General for Security & Unification Studies, Institute of Foreign Affairs and National Security.
Introduction : Security Trends in Northeast Asia
The end of the Cold War has certainly led to an overall improvement in the security
environment of Northeast Asia. It has generally reduced international tension across the
region by improving bilateral relationships among regional countries. The preoccupation
of virtually all countries in the region with accelerating economic development and
enhancing their economic competitiveness has encouraged them to promote cooperative
commercial relations with their neighbors, and this has also contributed to a reduction
of tensions. As a result, trade among Northeast Asian countries has significantly
increased in recent years, and intra-regional interdependence is deepening year after
year.
However, there still remain conflicts likely to affect regional peace and security, some
which are the legacy of the Cold War. These include the territorial dispute between
Japan and Russia, the tensions in the Taiwan Strait, the division of the Korean peninsula
and Pyongyang's drive to become an indigenous nuclear power. Although some
progress has been made in defusing these potential crises, none of these problems have
been completely resolved.
There is also a growing agenda of nonconventional security issues in the region, issues
that do not involve direct military deployments, but that could still give rise to the
threat or use of force. These include the management of natural resources; the
protection of the environment, in particular, transborder air pollution and nuclear waste
dumping; the regulation of refugees; and the prevention of international criminal
activities such as piracy, smuggling, drug trafficking and terrorism.
It is also to be noted that the countries in the region have been actively engaged in
building up their military forces. Competitive acquisition of arms are being fueled by the
obsolescence of existing weapons stock and the general prosperity throughout the
region. Above all, they are being stimulated by the strategic uncertainties surrounding
the collapse of the Soviet Union and the reduction in American deployment in the region.
Although the motivations behind the arms build-up in the region are complex and vary
according to country, the major causes for the military arms build-up in Northeast Asia
today no longer stem from ideological conflicts but rather from growing concern with
strategic uncertainty and conflicting national interests, that is, the urge to protect or
expand a sphere of influence versus the fear of losing it.
A fragile peace was maintained in Northeast Asia during the Cold War years with the
United States playing a pivotal role in maintaining peace and stability in the region. Its
security commitment remains the linchpin of post-Cold War Northeast Asian peace and
stability under the present power relations and strategic circumstances. However,
anxieties arise over the future role of the United States in post-Cold War Northeast
Asia.
Probably the most serious challenge to the long-term security of the region may come
from the internal factors. Major transformations―social, economic, and political in their
nature―are taking place in key states in the region. The outcome of such
transformations will determine to a large extent the nature of the future Northeast
Asian security environment.
The purpose of this paper is to examine the Republic of Korea's approach to peace and
stability on the Korean peninsula and in Northeast Asia, by scrutinizing the recent
security developments in the region.
The Korean Peninsula: Major Security Concerns in Northeast Asia
Three Approaches to Enhance Peace and Stability
Conclusion
Since the Korean peninsula still remains as one of the major places of tension in
Northeast Asia, it is clear that promoting North-South dialogue and successfully
managing the North Korean issue―the nuclear question and the integration of
Pyongyang into the regional order―are the keys to preserving regional security and
economic prosperity. In other words, without realizing denuclearization and the
accomplishment of peace and reconciliation on the Korean peninsula and economic
cooperation, the current state of regional security and economic interdependence
cannot be sustained.
The measures to enhance peace and stability and to facilitate regional cooperation on
the Korean peninsula and Northeast Asia are open-ended. We can presume three major
approaches―bilateral, regional and the application of global agreements―at the initial
stage. At the moment, the most important approach is to encourage bilateral
negotiations between the parties in direct conflict. To promote North-South direct
negotiations, the Republic of Korea is genuinely interested in making economic
conditions to create change in North Korea and to foster these conditions by allowing
increased business transactions and other avenues of economic cooperation.
While emphasizing the importance of bilateral negotiations between the two Koreas,
however, it is not necessarily to exclude the role of external powers in the region.
Given the political conditions surrounding the Korean peninsula, any fundamental
change in the inter-Korean situation would, in the long run, require the support of the
international community, particularly the United States, Japan, China and Russia. The
four major powers in the region could support the North-South dialogue, help in the
easing of tensions, facilitate discussion of common security concerns and possibly
guarantee the outcomes negotiated between the two Koreas, by forming a consulative
forum in the region.
Source Materials
Remarks by H.E. Mr. Gong Ro-Myung, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea, at the 50th Session of the General ...
East Asia Today and Tomorrow
AGREEMENT ON SUPPLY OF A LIGHT-WATER REACTOR PROJECT TO THE DEMOCRATIC PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF KOREA BETWEEN THE KOREAN PENINSULA
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