푸틴주의와 한반도 - 2000년 이후 러시아의 한반도 정책 변화

Abstract

Since 2000, Russia has sought to secure partnerships in Northeast Asia to return to its status as a great power and form a multipolar system. On the Korean Peninsula it has maintained the “equidistant diplomacy with North and South” and began to engage limitedly in securing strategic stability. In order to strengthen the partnership for the formation of a multipolar system by expanding cooperation with China in the political and economic fields, and to explore the possibility of full-scale cooperation through solving territorial problems with Japan, it was necessary to restore strategic influence and secure strategic stability on the Korean Peninsula. During this period, Russia regarded the Korean Peninsula as a strategic instability zone threatening the security of its eastern borders, and tried to secure strategic stability by resolving the North Korean nuclear problem while maintaining the “equidistant diplomacy with North and South”. In other words, at the time Russia paid attention to the meaning of the Korean Peninsula in the security dimension, specifically the security level of Asia or the whole of Northeast Asia. Since 2012, when Putin returned to the presidency, Russia has sought to secure support from Northeast Asia for the development of Far East and Siberia in to consolidate its status as a great power. On the Korean Peninsula, unlike the past, it attempted to actively engage in strategic stability and economic benefits. The development of the Far East and Siberia began in earnest with the launch of the 3rd Putin government. Therefore it has become essential to expand economic cooperation with North and South Korea to complement economic cooperation with China, which needs certain checks at the economic level, and Japan, with which the possibility of full-scale cooperation disappears. Russia has been actively working to establish a new foundation for expanding economic cooperation with the two Koreas, while trying to maintain North Koreas existing regime and prevent military conflicts. In conclusion, since 2012, in Putinist diplomacy, the Korean Peninsula has had an important meaning not only in the security dimension but also in the economic dimension.