Suchergebnisse

In a change from the past, the government of the Republic of Korea now emphasizes communication with domestic as well as external audiences. However, practices during past military authoritarian regimes have left a lasting, negative impression on the public. As a result, the government still suffers from a credibility gap, making it difficult to gain support at home for its defense policies. The government may need to rethink the methods and content of its communications on defense in the face of continued demands for more detailed and timely information.

This ARI explores the situation in the Korean peninsula after the sinking of the Cheonan on 26 March 2010 and stresses the need for a new South Korean policy towards the North. We are entering the final stage of the Cheonan incident, following the adoption of the UN Security Council President's Statement of 9 July 2010. There will now be a period of either stalemate or confrontation between the two Koreas. And North Korea is very likely to engage in its traditional peace offensive vis-à-vis the outside world. To manage North Korea's challenges in the coming days, South Korea should consider the following: (1) taking a long-term comprehensive approach towards North Korea geared towards achieving a fundamental change in the North; (2) enhancing its defence posture in various ways to deny North Korea's political and military objectives; (3) further strengthening its international cooperation networks, including its links to China; and (4) consolidating domestic support for its policy towards North Korea.

Abstract: Confidence-building in the Korean Peninsula must be directed to the achievement of the conditions for peaceful coexistence, crisis prevention/management, and reconciliation and cooperation. The first set of conditions is related to political confidence, the second set is related to military confidence, and the third set is related to the economic and social confidence. South Korea has taken various unilateral measures. These measure should be reciprocated by North Korea. Under the current situation, the most important confidence building measure is the resumption of inter-Korean dialogue and the implementation of the already agreed measures contained in the Basic Agreement and Protocols. On the other hand, South Korea should adopt "tit-for-tat" strategy in inter-Korean relations and should not beg dialogue for the sake of dialogue itself.

Since the division of Korea in 1945, the Korean peninsula has been characterized as a place of hostility with an arms race between the two Koreas. It has become one of the most heavily militarized areas in the world. The paper discusses confidence-building in the achievement Korean peninsula for the of conditions for peaceful co-existence crisis prevention/management, and reconciliation and cooperation. (DÜI-Sen)