South Korean Strategic Thinking toward North Korea: The Evolution of the Engagement Policy and Its Impact upon U.S.-ROK Relations

Bae, Jong-Yun

doi:10.1525/as.2010.50.2.335

Cited by 9 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 1 publication

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“…Still, the ROK's progressives and conservatives are both committed to the ROK-US alliance. Although the relationship was fraught with friction, progressive presidents Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun never considered devaluing the alliance (Bae 2010;JC Kim 2015, 49). For instance, Roh also acknowledged that maintaining the ROK-US alliance is essential in deterring threats posed by the DPRK (Yoo 2012, 336).…”

Section: A Shift In the Political Orientation Of The Rok's Governing ...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Factors Weakening the Strength and Solidarity of ROK-US Alliance Necessary to Deter DPRK’s Provocations

Chung¹

2022

kjis

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Despite having few allies and experiencing economic hardship, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) continues to conduct military provocations, destabilizing peace on the Korean Peninsula. However, the Republic of Korea (ROK) and the United States (US), the two partners who are superior in terms of national capabilities, are having difficulty deterring the DPRK's aggression. In this context, this article examines the domestic and international factors that reduce the ROK-US alliance's ability to hinder DPRK from conducting belligerent actions that especially threaten the ROK's national security. The first three factors are the DPRK's nuclear weapons, the ROK's domestic politics, and the increasing China-ROK economic ties. Additionally, the rise of China and its potential impact on the ROK-US alliance to deter the DPRK's provocations will be discussed as the fourth factor. By shifting the power dynamics in East Asia and the solidarity of the ROK-US alliance simultaneously, these factors are working as obstacles to the ROK and the US from collaborating for peace on the Korean Peninsula. Thus, unless the ROK and the US find ways to restore their dominance in the region and strengthen their alliance relationship, the DPRK's provocations could become more and more difficult to deter, leading to increased conflict on the Korean Peninsula.

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Section: A Shift In the Political Orientation Of The Rok's Governing ...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Factors Weakening the Strength and Solidarity of ROK-US Alliance Necessary to Deter DPRK’s Provocations

Chung¹

2022

kjis

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“…This was demonstrated by the cooperation in the field of economy that was fixed in the government of Roh Moo Hyun in 2007 covered by the Free Trade Agreement. In addition, the government of Roh Moo Hyun also sent military troops to Iraq in accordance with the request of President Bush (Bae, 2010). In other words, the progressive regime here made some compromises in looking at relations with the United States.…”

Section: The Regime Strategy Of Progressive and Conservative Group Inmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Influence of Domestic Politics of South Korea on its Relations with North Korea and the United States

Darussalam

2020

JSP

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This paper aims to conduct research on the influence of domestic South Korean politics on relations with the United States and North Korea. In this case, the theory of dominance of domestic political actors explains where the dominance of a group will have an influence on determining the foreign policy of a country. South Korea’s domestic politics is dominated by two groups with different ideologies in the face of the United States and North Korea. This then resulted in different actions in the face of North Korea and the United States. The differences will be explained by assessing some of the policies applied to Kim Dae Jung’s regime and Roh Moo-Hyun from a progressive group. The policy will then be compared to the policies of the regime of Lee Myung Bak from conservative groups. Differences in the group’s dominant views in South Korea have led to certain strategies for each group in the face of the opposition group. The strategy is carried out to maintain the effectiveness of the policies applied according to the ideology of each group. This research used literature study as the method by taking data from journals and reports which that discuss the national politics of South Korea. The theoretical framework of V.M Hudson, which focuses on the national circumstances, and the role of domestic actors have been applied in this research.

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“…Bush did not trust the North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, and considered the engagement policy as a failure. Furthermore, Washington found out about North Korea's highly enriched uranium based nuclear program which ended the Agreed Framework and the second North Korean nuclear crisis began (Bae, 2010). As a result, the ROK-US relationship became unstable.…”

Section: Rok-us Relations Since the End Of The Cold Warmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Initially, US officials were displeased with South Korea's request to restore its sovereignty through regaining the wartime operational control (Lee DS, 2007: 481). However, since transferring the wartime operational control meant a lower US defense burden, Washington agreed to transfer wartime operational control to South Korea (Bae, 2010;Lee K, 2011;Park M, 2010).…”

Section: Rok-us Relations Since the End Of The Cold Warmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In general, previous studies on ROK-US relations can be categorized in two groups: (1) historical analysis of ROK-US relations or ROK-US alliances (e.g. Cha, 2010;Kang, 2006;Park JJ, 2011); and (2) focusing on specific issues, such as US forces in South Korea and/or status of forces agreement (Park WG, 2013), anti-Americanism (Oh and Arrington, 2007;Sim, 2008), economic and trade issues (Noland, 1993;Shin, 1993), North Korean nuclear crisis (Bae, 2010), or the ROK-US military alliance (Lee and Heo, 2001;Manyin et al, 2014). These studies are theoretical and/or analytical, but they do not provide statistical evidence.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Factors Affecting ROK–US Relations, 1990–2011: An Empirical Analysis

Kim

Heo

2016

Journal of Asian and African Studies

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This study investigates what factors affect Republic of Korea (South Korea)–United States (ROK–US) relations based on a theoretical framework, using event data created by content analysis from 1990 to 2011. South Korea’s economic development led to democratization, which resulted in elite changes. New progressive elites interpreted national interests differently and demanded changes in ROK–US relations. Accordingly, the ROK–US relationship was tense during the progressive administrations. ROK’s economic development attracted more trade with the US, which enhanced the bilateral relationship due to heightened interdependence. By contrast, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea)–US relationship and the trade between ROK and China did not significantly affect ROK– relations, meaning ROK’s relationship with other countries does not affect ROK–US relations.

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South Korean Strategic Thinking toward North Korea: The Evolution of the Engagement Policy and Its Impact upon U.S.-ROK Relations

Cited by 9 publications

References 1 publication

Factors Weakening the Strength and Solidarity of ROK-US Alliance Necessary to Deter DPRK’s Provocations

Factors Weakening the Strength and Solidarity of ROK-US Alliance Necessary to Deter DPRK’s Provocations

The Influence of Domestic Politics of South Korea on its Relations with North Korea and the United States

Factors Affecting ROK–US Relations, 1990–2011: An Empirical Analysis

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