UNIFICATION AND NORTH KOREA POLICY OF THE KOREAN
ADMINISTRATION AND UNIFICATION PUBLIC DIPLOMACY
Lee Jeom Ho PhD of Political science(Seoul, South Korea)
Researcher of University of World Economy and Diplomacy
e-mail:webmaster@korea.ac.kr
Abstract.
Central Asia is a key region of the Korean administration's
vision of building a global hub and building an overseas Korean community.
Until now, the South Korean government has laid the foundation for northern
diplomacy in Central Asia. It has developed strategies and visions for Central
Asia through the Eurasian Initiative policy, Northeast Asia peace policy
initiative, and the promotion of the New Northern Policy. As such, Central
Asia, such as Uzbekistan, is a key country with high geopolitical and
geographical strategic value, and has served as a cooperative base for
previous governments to enter the Eurasian market. The fact that research
on cooperation between Korea and Central Asia can look at institutional
reforms being pursued by Central Asian countries after the transition to the
socialist system has many implications. In other words, it is very meaningful
in terms of the Korean government's construction of a global central country,
the construction of an overseas Korean community, the establishment of a
foundation for overseas unification, and the study of a unification model.
Key words:
New Northern Policy, Central Asia, South Korea, North
Korea, Korean Peninsula, unification, economy and model.
In particular, the five Central Asian countries have different economic
development speeds and are specific, so it is significant as a new model that
can follow after North Korea's reform and opening. East Asian models such
as China and Vietnam and Eastern European models have been studied as
unification models on the Korean Peninsula, but
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models of countries that transition to the Central Asian system have recently
attracted attention. Research in Central Asia, such as Uzbekistan and
Kazakhstan, is very meaningful in that Central Asian countries have special
diplomatic relations with Korea and are a priority area for diaspora unification
public diplomacy, where large numbers of overseas Koreans reside. The
Korean government's vision and practice efforts to build an overseas Korean
community are very important in forming a community and national unity in
the face of the blurred identity of Koreans in Central Asia and the widening
gap in perception between Koreans and Koreans in Central Asia. In
particular, the South Korean administration's Audacious Initiative has great
implications in that the issue of unification on the Korean Peninsula can be
achieved with the support of the international community, including overseas
Koreans. In other words, the promotion of diplomatic relations such as
economic cooperation in Central Asia, such as Uzbekistan, which has a high
distribution of Korean people abroad, promotes the unification of the Korean
Peninsula and the drive for North Korea policy.
Correlation and Implications of Central Asia and South Korea's
Unification and North Korea Policy Promotion
Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan in Central Asia
experienced system changes after independence from the Soviet Union in
the early 1990s. In addition, the national operating system has been formed
differently on the basis of similar political and social and economic initial
conditions. At the same time as independence, these countries formed
"power from above" centered on power groups during the Soviet republic
period rather than "power from below."[1] Accordingly, the power group
dominated the economic and social sectors, forming a structure that is
difficult to expect the maturity of Western civil democracy. However, the
changes in the system of these countries have been characterized by political
authoritarianism and economic market economy. In this respect, it is
distinguished from China and Vietnam, which politically introduced markets
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based on Communist Party rule. North Korea has celebrated its 10th
anniversary in 2021 since the North Korea regime was launched in 2012.
From the beginning, the North Korea regime has made clear its commitment
to economic improvement and implemented it. Immediately after taking
power in 2012, Chairman Kim stressed, "Burn capitalism on socialist trains,"
ordering North Korea to burn the market economy of capitalism on trains
called North Korea. However, in 2013, he began to pledge to put an end to
the infinite arms race through nuclear possession and to focus more on
"economic construction" that serves to improve people's lives with its
technology and resources. At a plenary session of the Labor Party's Central
Committee in March 2013, he stressed, "The true superiority of the new
parallel line is that it can focus on economic construction and improving
people's lives by critically increasing the effectiveness of war deterrence and
defense without further increasing defense costs." The new economic
management improvement measures under the so-called "6.28 policy"
"About establishing a new Korean-style economic management system"
have entered the full-fledged implementation stage after a pilot stage. In
addition, North Korea believes that economic management needs to be
improved to improve people's lives, and is implementing the "socialist
corporate responsibility management system (manager responsibility
management system)," a specific implementation tool of the "Korean-style
economic management method." In the 2014 "5.30 Work (or Discussion),"
North Korean leader points out that not only economic workers but also all
workers should deeply reflect on the reality that the country's economy and
people's lives have not been solved from the mid-1990s to today and
emphasizes getting out of the old framework and formality. Meanwhile, the
North Korea regime accelerated the designated development of special
economic zones or economic development zones, which can be called open
policies, along with measures to improve economic management, which can
be called reform measures. Although there is no visible inflow of foreign
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capital as intensive international sanctions are maintained, the North Korean
authorities are preparing for the opening themselves. In particular, attention
is being paid to the phenomenon that it is speeding up the creation of special
tourist zones such as the Wonsan-Galma Coastal Tourism Zone, Mt. Baekdu
Samjiyeon, and Yangdeok Hot Spring Culture and Tourism Zone. The North
Korean authorities are well aware that it is not easy due to international
sanctions, but they continue to make efforts to attract foreign capital. In
particular, it is considering attracting investment from abroad and economic
cooperation. However, since it is not easy for North Korea to attract capital
from countries other than China, it is paying attention to Chinese companies
as potential investors. As such, North Korea's state-led reform and opening
is a common factor found in the early stages of countries that have
experienced system changes. In this respect, the initial conditions of
countries that have experienced system changes are an important factor in
assessing the path-dependent nature. In the case of Central Asian countries,
as previously reviewed, the structure has remained the same as the ruling
group of the power elite, and cohesion based on economic benefits or profit
sharing of the power elite is strongly active. As a result, regime change
remains only a change of power, but no change of power has occurred.
The North Korean system still forms a power system centered on the
Labor Party, and all sources of power are based on the rules and decisions
of the Workers' Party of Korea. Therefore, if North Korea's system change
goes beyond the initial (system improvement) stage and enters the mid-term
(rapid reform), it will inevitably involve reform of the political structure.
Whether North Korea chooses the Central Asian model or the Chinese and
Vietnamese models will be determined by strategic choices for political
reform in the medium term. However, since the establishment of the
government, North Korea has continued to dominate, and if interests are
properly shared within the elite group, the change from a power structure
centered on the Workers' Party of Korea to an authoritarian political structure
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will be open. Therefore, in the current marketization of North Korea, the
distribution of socioeconomic goods within the power elite is an important
clue to understanding the direction of North Korea's system change. In
conclusion, North Korea's regime change is underway. However, if North
Korea decides that socioeconomic goods will be distributed based on the
continuity and cohesion of the power elite like Central Asian countries, it is
highly likely to accept the Central Asian model. In this case, it is expected
that the acceptance of the same model as Turkmenistan in the beginning,
and then the Uzbek model or the Kazakh model will be selected. Therefore,
the Central Asian model as a system implementation path that North Korea
can choose in the process of system transformation in the future has
considerable meaning. In the South Korean administration's North Korea
policy promotion, studying Central Asian countries and developing friendly
relations means preparing for the unification of the Korean Peninsula and
solidifying the foundation for unification.
The Korean Government's Unification and North Korea
Policy Initiative: The Characteristics and Contents of the
Audacious Initiative
1.
Characteristics of the Audacious Initiative
The Korean administration has established a vision for the Korean
Peninsula of denuclearization, peace, and prosperity, as well as three goals,
three principles, and five tasks to realize it. On Liberation Day, a
comprehensive plan for resolving the North Korean nuclear issue was
presented, and measures for simultaneous resolution and phased
implementation of North Korea's denuclearization measures and economic,
political, and military corresponding measures were prepared. Based on
consistent principles, the South Korean administration is striving to redefine
inter-Korean relations and is making full-fledged efforts to promote North
Korean human rights. The Korean administration's unification and North
Korea policy initiative has the following characteristics.First, the bold initiative
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is the unification and North Korea policy initiative of the Korean
administration. The bold initiative presents strong security as a prerequisite
for realizing the Korean Peninsula of peace and prosperity through
denuclearization. It aims to promote an effective resolution of the North
Korean nuclear issue through a bold initiative, and pursues principled and
practical inter-Korean relations. Above all, the main focus is on preparing the
foundation for peaceful unification of liberal democracy. Second, the bold
initiative is a measure that improves the lesson of North Korea's "partial
denuclearization-compensation-return to the point," and includes specific
measures to be taken between each other in the bold initiative, so it is
different from the demand for denuclearization. Third, Audacious initiative is
an open initiative. Therefore, it suggests that the government will also discuss
North Korea's requirements if North Korea presents its specific requirements,
not criticism of the South as it is now, because it is a "mutually consulting on
issues that North Korea is concerned about."[2] Specifically, the bold initiative
has a plan to actively seek economic support measures from the initial
negotiation process if North Korea comes to the negotiating table with
sincerity. One of them is the resource-food exchange program on the Korean
Peninsula, and the other is a pilot project to improve people's livelihood. This
pilot project for improving people's livelihood includes health, medical care,
drinking water, hygiene, and forests.
2.
The main contents of the Audacious initiative
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4
Recover Korean homogeneity throucfi opening and communication
5
Prepare for unification with the Korean people and international community
The South Korean administration's unification and North Korea policy
presupposes a vision to realize a Korean Peninsula of denuclearization,
peace, and prosperity. It also sets the goal of normalizing inter-Korean
relations and creating a Korean Peninsula of peace. To this end, first, we are
setting guidelines to solve the North Korean nuclear issue through bold
initiatives. Second, it suggests the direction of promoting principled and
practical inter-Korean relations. Third, it is declared that it will create a
foundation for peaceful unification with the people and the international
community and strengthen the will and capabilities of national unification.
The South Korean administration's unification and North Korea policy
presents three principles for promotion. First, it does not use any armed
provocation. In other words, North Korea's nuclear threat or armed
provocation will not be tolerated as it does not want to change the status quo
by force and has no hostile intention to North Korea. Second, efforts will be
made to develop reciprocal inter-Korean relations. It emphasizes that all
inter-Korean problems are resolved through dialogue, while establishing a
reciprocal structure based on flexible reciprocity in interKorean relations.
Third, it suggests that in order to establish a foundation for peaceful
unification, it will faithfully fulfill its obligation to promote peaceful unification
policies based on the basic liberal democratic order. With unification as the
,
Virtuous
cycle
between
denuclearization
and
confidence
Building between
two Koreas
2
Normalize inter-Korean relations
based
on
mutual
respect
3
Promote human debits of NK people and relieve pain from division
5 key
Tasks
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ultimate goal, the government plans to gradually lay the foundation for
peaceful unification of the Korean Peninsula by strengthening domestic and
foreign communication and cooperation while striving to establish a
foundation for peaceful unification of the Korean Peninsula step by step.[3]
The Korean administration's unification and North Korea policy presupposes
five major tasks to realize the Korean Peninsula of denuclearization, peace,
and prosperity.
First, it is a virtuous cycle of denuclearization and the establishment
of inter-Korean trust. As a party to the North Korean nuclear issue, the
government will actively pursue a "Audacious initiative" as a key way to fully
denuclearize North Korea and realize sustainable peace and prosperity on
the Korean Peninsula. When a roadmap for denuclearization between the
two Koreas is established, comprehensive economic, political, and military
measures will be simultaneously and step by step in line with North Korea's
progress in denuclearization. At the political and military level, the measure
is aimed at easing military tensions on the Korean Peninsula and establishing
substantial peace. Second, it is the normalization of inter-Korean relations
based on mutual respect. In the process of promoting inter-Korean relations,
practical approaches and flexibility will not be lost, but South and North Korea
will make efforts to normalize inter-Korean relations in accordance with laws
and principles and establish reciprocal inter-Korean relations.
Third, it is to promote the human rights of North Koreans and relieve
the pain of division. Humanitarian cooperation will be carried out consistently
without political and military considerations at the level of humanitarianism
and brotherhood. The plan is to actively seek support measures for
vulnerable groups such as infants and mothers, respond to quarantine crises,
infectious diseases, and respond to serious disasters, and make efforts to
substantially improve human rights in North Korea. In particular, we will
actively solve humanitarian issues invited to the division, such as separated
families, closely support North Korean defectors, and strengthen the safety
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net for social adaptation.
Fourth, it is to restore the homogeneity of the Korean people through
openness and communication. The plan is to promote exchanges and
cooperation between the two Koreas as much as possible even before
denuclearization, to gradually open up each other in broadcasting, media,
and communication, and to establish a climate and environmental community
on the Korean Peninsula through the inter-Korean green detente.
Fifth, it is the preparation for unification with the people and the
international community. The plan is to form a unification consensus through
the participation of people from all walks of life and expand the foundation for
the international community's support for peaceful unification of the Korean
Peninsula. In order to improve the unification awareness of future
generations, it is widely accepting opinions at home and abroad by
strengthening unification education for teenagers through various contents
using new media and metaverse. In particular, it is worth noting that the
Korean government's official unification plan, the National Community
Unification Plan, created 30 years ago, is supplemented and developed in a
way that meets the spirit of the times and can be sympathized with by the
people.[4]
Promoting Unification Public Diplomacy to Establish the
Foundation for Unification of the Korean Peninsula
Unification public diplomacy means creating public opinion that allows
governments and civil society in question to implement policies that support
peaceful unification of the Korean Peninsula based on consensus on
peaceful unification. As mentioned earlier, the necessity and revitalization
factors of promoting unification public diplomacy in Central Asia, such as
Uzbekistan, stem from the diaspora of Goryeo people. This is closely related
to the strengthening of the capacity of the global central state and the
construction of overseas Korean communities, which the Korean government
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is pushing for as a national task. The international community's support and
cooperation in the unification of the Korean Peninsula can create a
foundation for overseas unification through the promotion of unification public
diplomacy, as mentioned in the preparation for unification with the people and
the international community. Through this, integration in various subjects and
fields can be achieved. Unification public diplomacy aims to form consensus
among various actors in the international community, such as the meaning
and effect of peaceful unification on the Korean Peninsula and the peace
vision of East Asia. In other words, it is necessary to secure consensus and
support for peaceful unification of the Korean Peninsula through close policy
cooperation with the international community such as Central Asia based on
the Korea-U.S. alliance. In addition, it is necessary to strengthen the
foundation for unification public diplomacy activities to enhance
understanding of the issue of peaceful unification of the Korean Peninsula,
while supporting the activities of private and overseas Koreans.
References
1. Secretariat of the Forum "Republic of Korea - Central Asia"
2. Korea-net
official
website
https://m.korea.net/russian/AboutUs/KOCIS#
3. The role of the chaebols in South Korean society and the
economy has been the subject of increasingly critical scrutiny, and it is not
my intention to portray them in an idyllic manner. However, a thorough
investigation of their role goes well beyond the scope of this paper. On this
see Kim (1998); Haggard, Lim, and Kim (2010); Lee (2008); and Chang
(2006).
4. Presidential Committee on Northern Economic Cooperation //
https://www.bukbang.go.kr/bukbangen/vision
policy/vision/;jsessionid=wi
NhMgDoMSe12G0mZPhMHis3.node10
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5. Rashitovna, Kadirova Nargiza. "Consular law: international legal
framework, experience of leading democratic countries." European
research 1 (24) (2017): 58-61.
6. Sadriddinovna, Israilova Zarina. "The concept, principles and
international standards of electoral law and processes." Thematics Journal
of Law 6.2 (2022).
