Inter-Korean Relations: Seoul's Perspective

Abstract

OF THE THREE remaining divided nations in the postVietnam War era, Korea is unquestionably the most explosive. The two Germanys have never engaged in any military conflict with each other and continue to coexist peacefully. Relations between the People's Republic of China (PRC) and Taiwan are no less tranquil, both being preoccupied with developmental goals: the PRC is vigorously pursuing its four modernizations, while Taiwan is busy trying to keep the momentum of its unprecedented economic boom. In the Korean peninsula, however, the two rival regimes not only continue to hurl insults at each other but also to confront each other along the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) with a million heavily armed troops. It is this ever-present danger of an armed conflict that makes relations between North and South Korea a matter of global significance, for a conflict between the two has the potential of escalating into a serious confrontation, even war, among the major powers, whose interests intersect in the peninsula. Their stakes are reflected in a series of bilateral mutual defense treaties linking South Korea with the U.S., and North Korea with both the Soviet Union and the PRC; in the presence of 40,000 U.S. troops in South Korea; and in the strong economic ties between Seoul on one hand and Japan and the U.S. on the other. Inter-Korean relations also have enormous implications for the internal politics and external policies of the two Koreas. In North Korea the frenetic pace of economic construction, political indoctrination, and military training has been justified in terms of building a base for the eventual reunification of the fatherland. Moreover, political turmoil in the South has been exploited by North Korea's ruling elite to divert the attention of its people from domestic problems-a tactic that has be-