S. Korea, India vs. N. Korea, Pakistan

By Rahul Raj

South Korea and India have one thing in common.

Since both countries were tragically separated, they have faced ongoing hostilities with their former countrymen in North Korea and Pakistan.

The dynamics of these relationships are challenging but also present opportunities for security and cooperation between two nations that offer stability and progress and two countries that threaten regional as well as global destabilization.

South Korea has come a long way from a war-ravaged country to become a powerhouse of modernization and industrialization in Asia.

North Korea, on the other hand, remains a troublesome nation whose nuclear ambitions pose a threat not only to South Korea but to the region as a whole.

Likewise, India has become a beacon of economic development and an emerging power, while Pakistan teeters on becoming a failed state and an epicenter of terrorism, having secretly aided the Taliban as well as hosting Osama bin Laden for several years before his assassination by the United States in 2011.

However, in an increasingly interconnected world, the security threats emanating from North Korea and Pakistan are no longer confined to Asia but have consequences for the entire world.

The bigger problem for both South Korea and India is that their adversaries have aided and abetted each other, and their cooperation in proliferating nuclear and missile technologies have made them serious threats to global security.

The groundwork for cooperation between Pyongyang and Islamabad began when Pakistani Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto first visited North Korea in 1976, but their relationship took a decisive turn after the end of the Cold War when both countries decided to share their technological expertise.

Pakistan was eager to advance its missile and nuclear programs in the early 1990s in order to check India's sophisticated arms and weapons capabilities.

Meanwhile, North Korea wanted to expand its weapons programs after both of its closest allies, Russia and China, established diplomatic relationships with South Korea.

In 1993, Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto visited North Korea and secretly facilitated a deal to buy Rodong-1 missile technology in exchange for nuclear enrichment technology.

In 1998, Pakistan tested its Ghauri missile system, a version similar to the North Korean Rodong missile.

The secret weapons exchange programs between the two countries was later exposed by Pakistani nuclear scientist A.Q. Khan, who confessed to handing over nuclear technology to North Korea including centrifuges to enrich uranium.

The program was also confirmed by Pakistani President Parvez Musharraf in 2005.

Today North Korea, because of its unpredictable behavior amalgamated with its perennial ultimatums and war rhetoric, has become a nuclear threat to South Korea, to the region and possibly to other countries including the United States.

Similarly, Pakistan's nuclear arsenal as well as its covert support for terrorist organizations has become a threat to regional stability and world peace.

Indeed, the presence of terrorist groups which has been nurtured by Pakistan over the years also poses a threat to the security of nuclear material.

The proliferation of nuclear and missile technologies between North Korea and Pakistan has increased the chances of catastrophic terrorism on a global scale.

Both North Korea and Pakistan have tried to sell nuclear weapons technology to several countries including Libya, Syria and Iran. Moreover, neither Islamabad nor Pyongyang has abjured the idea of using nuclear weapons in the event of a conflict. In the aftermath of recent skirmishes in the Kashmir region of India, Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Asif threatened to destroy India with nuclear weapons, just as North Korea has repeatedly threatened to turn South Korea into a "sea of fire."

This type of war rhetoric is indicative of the fact that both South Korea and India live under the constant threat of aggression from their respective neighbors.

Looking at all these prevailing situations and the nature of their foes, Seoul and New Delhi cannot afford to appraise their security concerns separately since the secret cooperation carried out between Pakistan and North Korea now pose a grave danger to both nations.

Although the leaders of South Korea and India have often expressed support for each other in the event of terrorist attacks or nuclear threats emanating from North Korea and Pakistan, much more needs to be done if they accept that the national security issues they both face are no longer in isolation.

Both India and South Korea, for example, could use their diplomatic channels with North Korea and Pakistan to address their respective security issues.

Since India is providing humanitarian aid to North Korea, it might consider how to convey to North Korea that its war rhetoric and nuclear and ballistic missiles threats do more harm than good to bilateral relations.

Similarly, South Korea could use economic as well as diplomatic means to persuade Pakistan to behave as a responsible state actor and eschew its nuclear proliferation activities and support for groups linked to terrorism.

Sitting on the sidelines is no longer an option in the face of the dangers posed by unstable countries armed to the teeth.

South Korea and India must come to terms with the fact that threats from their respective foes threaten not only themselves, but the peace and prosperity of all of Asia as well as of the entire world.

Rahul Raj is assistant professor in the Department of Hotel and Tourism Management at Sejong University and adjunct professor in the Department of Korean Studies, Hanyang University.