The Korean Peninsula: Prospects for Arms Reduction under Global Detente (review)

Abstract

BOOK REVIEWS133 Korean, Japanese, and Western scholarship in the subject, P'yöngyang remains a Churchillian enigma wrapped in a riddle encased in mystery. The outside world's understanding of North Korea continues to be clouded by a fog of propaganda and counterpropaganda. So, while a political scientist such as Scalapino seeks to discern, albeit cautiously, certain trends in North Korea, I, as a historian, can only cross my fingers, wait for the next event to happen, and then try to grasp its significance retrospectively. The Korean peninsula is likely to remain an exciting, if still unpredictable, political terrain for some time to come. Scalapino's lucid book does offer an urbane perspective on Korea's recent history, but it is by no means a definitive synthesis of the subject. Vipan Chandra Wheaton College The Korean Peninsula: ProspectsforArms Reduction under GlobalDetente, edited by William J. Taylor, Cha Young-koo, and John Q. Blodgett. Boulder, Colo.: Westview Press, 1990. Price not given. Recent changes in global politics have provided an unprecedented opportunity for talks on arms reduction and the reunification of North and South Korea. The collapse of socialism in Eastern Europe and the consolidation of reform politics in the Soviet Union, along with the U.S. initiative for the reduction of tactical nuclear weapons, offer a valuable opportunity to resolve the dangerous and ultimately unnecessary confrontation of the two Koreas. But the relationship between North and South Korea has not kept pace with these global changes. Indeed, the Korean peninsula remains one of the most volatile potential sites of local conflict—the kind of international conflict that will characterize the new age of detente. The Cold War, unfortunately, still lingers in the peninsula. Why is this so? And how can this situation be corrected, and the chances for peace and unification enhanced? These are the questions that should be posed when we discuss "prospects for arms reduction under global detente" in the Korean context. What this book's eighteen writers, Korean and American, attempt to do is just that—well, almost. The book deals with such comprehensive issues as the new global detente and the Korean peninsula (Part 1) and the context for arms reduction (Part 2), and the more specific question of issues and prospects for arms control in Korea (Part 3). The book's main themes are as follows. First, the changing global environment is conducive to peace and arms reduction on the peninsula (see especially John Q. Blodgett's article "Conclusions and Policy Implications"). Second , in spite of this favorable climate, the North Korean leadership shows no signs of flexibility, especially in military matters (see Oh Chang Il's "Military Talks in Korea: An Overview"). Third, the governments of the United States and 134BOOK REVIEWS the Republic of Korea should therefore take the initiative in negotiations for arms reduction and peace (William J. Taylor, Jr., and Michael J. Mazarr, "The Future of ROK-U.S. Security Ties"). At the same time, ROK-U.S. relations should be changed along the lines of the new global detente (Cha Young-koo, "The Future of ROK-U.S. Military Relations"). Finally, the alliance should be alert to the possibility of military provocation by North Korea (see especially Oh Kwan-chi, "The Military Balance on the Korean Peninsula"). This reviewer's general impression is that the authors are still more or less obsessed with the Cold War confrontation between East and West: They are pessimistic about the prospects for democratic reform in the Soviet Union, and they believe that the Russians and the North Koreans are still building a military capability in Northeast Asia; that the North Korean peace and arms-reduction proposals have all been mere propaganda; that the North Korean leadership has not abandoned its prime objective of unification by force; that North Korea's military capability is superior to that of South Korea. Given the backgrounds of the authors, it is not surprising that they hold such obstinately conservative views: Among the eighteen authors, six were military officers on active duty at some point in their lifetime, and most of the others have careers in government or related institutions. On the issue of arms reduction, they undoubtedly represent...