I am an editorial writer at The Korea Times, focusing on foreign policy, North Korea and domestic politics. My key areas of interest include North Korea, foreign interference in elections, election integrity, cyberattacks and human rights. Prior to joining the Editorial Board, I served as both Politics Desk editor and Culture Desk editor. During my career, I have reported on the Presidential Office under the Lee Myung-bak administration, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Assembly.
Unification diplomacy in full swing
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Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se, right, shakes hands with his German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier before holding a meeting in the foreign ministry in Seoul last Friday. / Yonhap
By Kang Hyun-kyung
Experts tell why int’l support is crucial for unification of Korea
By Kang Hyun-kyung
There is a popular belief in Korea that global public opinion in favor of unification of the two Koreas is one of the critical elements to make it happen.
This is a rationale behind the Park Geun-hye government’s push for rallying international support for a unified Korea by touting its benefits.
For a country like South Korea, officials say, unification is not something that can be done simply through an agreement with its northern neighbor partly because there are multiple stakeholders to be affected.
Victor Cha, senior advisor and Korea Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington D.C., agrees that international support matters.
He noted not only neighboring countries but also international institutions will also have an interest in unification.
“The unification of Korea is too important an issue for it not to involve international interests,” he said in an email message to The Korea Times.
“More broadly unification will be seen as a critical step to a security community in Asia that will engage all of countries. International institutions like the United Nations and World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Asian Development Bank and others will also have an interest. So it will be a crowded field.”
The veteran Korea watcher named the United States, China, Japan and Russia as key stakeholders in unification.
Chun Yung-woo, former senior presidential secretary for national security and foreign policy under the Lee Myung-bak government (2008-2013), says international support will matter particularly if unification comes suddenly because of a rapid change in the North.
“If unification comes suddenly, international support will matter. This is because unification will be a difficult task to achieve if there are major hurdles. So unanimous support from stakeholders counts in a situation like this,” he said.
“As we know, there are several countries having strategic interests on the Korean Peninsula. So it will be relatively easier for the two Koreas to achieve unification if those stakeholders are in favor of it,” he says.
He says these countries care about the unification of the two Koreas because it will affect the geopolitical landscape of East Asia and consequently their interests in the region.
Chun remains optimistic about international support.
“I think that China has no good reason to oppose a unified Korea and nor does the United States because Washington won’t feel that the unification of Korea will hurt its interests,” he said.
Victor Cha agrees with Chun regarding the positive international atmosphere.
“(Unification) is not a dilemma for Korea,” Cha says. “In the end, all outside entities will want a united Korea that is friendly to them, so no outside party will have an interest in subverting or hurting unification. This means that many will take the lead from the South in supporting the process.”
China factor
But some experts disagree, citing the China factor.
Park Cheol-un, former minister for political affairs during the Roh Tae-woo government, raised the possibility that China may want to deploy troops in the North to protect its economic interests if a sudden change occurs there.
China has leased North Korean mines and a port, and used its natural resources for a long time so it would worry about a possible change in the status of its economic interests.
Park says China may not feel comfortable about a unified Korea at the moment because of its economic interests.
German Ambassador to Korea Rolf Mafael says international support for the unification of Korea is essential, given the security situation in East Asia and the consequences that unification may have.
“It would also be extremely helpful in mastering the challenges resulting from the different level of economic development in the two Koreas,” he said.
On Friday, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier visited Seoul on the occasion of the first round of the Korean-German Advisory Committee meeting at the foreign ministry building.
During a joint press conference with Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se, Steinmeier observed that over the past years, the geopolitical landscape has changed slightly in favor of South Korea as any backlash from some stakeholders seems to have diminished.
The German foreign minister paid a courtesy visit to President Park Geun-hye. Details of their conversation at Cheong Wa Dae were not made public.
Members of the Korea-Germany Advisory Committee met for the first time Friday since the two sides agreed to form such a group in September. During a close-door meeting, they exchanged ideas about the German experience of reunification in 1990 and whether it would be applicable to the Korean Peninsula.
Of many aspects, a government official said on condition of anonymity that the so-called 2+4 process, which included East and West Germany and four stakeholders, would have implications for the unification of the two Koreas.
“We will see how the format was created and operated and how Germany was able to convince neighboring countries and stakeholders to believe a unified Germany would create an opportunity for them as well,” he said.
Unification diplomacy
In December, experts from Korea and an alliance of four Central European countries, dubbed the Visegrad Group, are expected to hold a seminar highlighting how the former communist countries successfully transitioned into capitalist systems. They are expected to share their ideas on the driving forces for a smooth transition after the fall of the former Soviet Union in 1989.
South Korea is interested in learning lessons from them to see if their experiences can be applicable to help the North open up its economy.
When it comes to preparation for unification, Park said the longer the better.
“It will be in South Korea’s interest if the government prepares for unification over a long period of time. When preparing for unification, he said officials here need to be careful not to anger the North as it is nervous about South Korea’s absorption of the North Korean economy,” he said.
President Park presented the importance of international support for unification.
In a dinner speech to Korean-Canadians during her state visit to the North American country in September, she called on ethnic Koreans to spread the word on unification so that the country can support a unification drive.
“It’s important for us to draw international support to achieve unification. I hope that each of you can play a missionary-like role to convince all Canadians to believe in the benefits,” she said.
During a keynote speech to a U.N. Assembly session days later, Park called on the international community to support the unification of the two Koreas.
She said she hopes all nations join hands to break the borderline that divides the two Koreas.