Peace through neutrality: Unification through a non-aligned Korea
"Neutralization" of the peninsula could end the decades-long division of the peninsula
Kwak Tae-Hwan
October 4th, 2016
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Koreans wish to achieve Korean unification as a long-term goal, but many obstacles hinder the unification process: from hardline policies coming from Seoul and Pyongyang to the ebb and flow of international geopolitics.
The ROK and the DPRK have insisted on their preferred unification formulae: Seoul cannot accept Pyongyang’s Democratic Federal Republic of Koryo (DFRK) formula, while Pyongyang cannot accept Seoul’s Korean National Community (KNC) formula.
But a concept of peace through neutralization on the Korean peninsula (PNKP) could be an alternative to these conflicting approaches.
NEUTRALIZATION IN THEORY AND PRACTICE
The concept is relatively easy to understand: if the two Koreas make all efforts to neutralize extreme thinking, hard-line policy and behavior, then national reconciliation, harmony of interest, and peace will ensue, and there will be a smooth road to a peaceful unification of Korea. In this world, a unified Korea will remain a non-aligned, neutral state, with a balanced security and foreign policy.
The concept of PNKP should be considered at three levels: (1) the South Korean domestic level, (2) the inter-Korean level, and (3) the international level.
First, ideological cleavages between conservatives and progressives in South Korea need to be resolved, and national consensus on a neutralization unification formula then needs to be achieved. Without an end to ideological cleavages in South Korea, there can be no national consensus.
…a unified Korea will be a non-aligned, neutral state, with no military alliance with any of the four major powers (the U.S., China, Japan, or Russia)
Second, inter-Korean reconciliation, cooperation, and peace needs to be achieved for a neutralized, unified Korea.
Third, a unified Korea will be a non-aligned, neutral state, with no military alliance with any of the four major powers (the U.S., China, Japan, or Russia), but maintaining peaceful and balanced diplomacy with them. The neutralization of the Korean peninsula will be in the best interest of the Korean people and the four powers, resolving inter-Korean ideological conflicts and promoting peace and stability in Northeast Asia.
In the near future, with some improvement in the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula and some progress in peacebuilding on the Korean peninsula, the Korean unification issue through neutralization could be discussed at Six-Party and/or multilateral talks.
CONSIDER AN ALTERNATIVE
A unified Korea is obviously a vision for the future and not a reality for 75 million Koreans. The ROK and the DPRK have lived in hostile confrontation for the last 71 years, but have made little effort to create a unified one Korean state by peaceful means.
The reality is that the two Koreas have failed to agree on a common unification formula because of lack of political will. Neutralization could circumvent this, as a means to promote national reconciliation, harmony of interest, peace, and unification on the Korean peninsula, where the interests of the four major powers intersect. We cannot change geography in Northeast Asia, but we can change history by creating a plan for unification through neutralization.
The two Koreas have failed to agree on a common unification formula because of lack of political will
PREPARING FOR PEACE
A unified Korea’s independence, territorial integrity, and sovereignty would be guaranteed by the four major powers concerned: the U.S., China, Russia and Japan, under the condition that a unified Korea would permanently agree to renounce war except for self-defense.
In the present Northeast Asian security environment, the four powers are unwilling to support Korean unification primarily because their interests are in conflict. However, a unified Korea through neutralization will benefit all parties concerned: the two Koreas and the four powers.
The ROK and the DPRK need to be prepared for a unified, neutralized Korean peninsula. First and foremost they must neutralize themselves by disengaging from the bilateral arms race, military provocations, ideological feuding, and military alliance systems. They have to promote national reconciliation, mutual trust and confidence building measures. Inter-Korean relations will have to improve so that the two Koreas can negotiate with the four major powers on the neutralization on the Korean peninsula.
Neutralization on the Korean Peninsula is based on an assumption that the four powers would prefer a unified, neutral, independent, and peaceful Korea to a divided and unstable one.
POWER POLITICS
There are four key reasons why this is the best – and only feasible – approach.
First, from a geopolitical perspective, the Korean peninsula has long been a victim of a balance of power politics among the major powers surrounding the peninsula for many centuries – neutralization will liberate the Korean peninsula from a balance of power politics.
Neutralization on the Korean Peninsula is based on an assumption that the four powers would prefer a unified, neutral, independent, and peaceful Korea to a divided, unstable one.
Second, from the four major powers’ perspectives, neutralization will be in best interests of the U.S., China, Russia, and Japan. Hence, they will be supportive of a neutralized, denuclearized, unified Korean peninsula.
Third, from the perspectives of the two Koreas, Koreans have suffered from deep ideological cleavages between extreme conservatives and radicals, and neutralization could thus help resolve them. Neutralization would weaken ideological feuds among South Koreans and between the two Koreas as well.
The process would also reduce arms spending by the two Koreas, freeing up more money to invest in economic development projects. Neutralization would also diminish Pyongyang’s incentives as a nuclear state, thereby accelerating the denuclearization and peace-regime-building process on the Korean peninsula.
Fourth, from a unification formula perspective, the ROK and the DPRK have conflicting unification formulae. This approach offers a middle ground.
It is argued that one of the core obstacles to the Korean peace and unification processes is the absence of a common Korean unification formula and a common ideology acceptable to the two Koreas. Transforming various conflicting ideologies such as socialism, Juche ideology (independence or self-reliance), capitalism, democracy, etc. into a common unification ideology seems an impossible task. A neutral, non-aligned Korea could be the answer.
Edited by: Oliver Hotham
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kwak Tae-Hwan
Dr. Kwak Tae-Hwan, Professor Emeritus at Eastern Kentucky University, former President of KINU (Korea Institute for National Unification), Chair-Professor and former Director of IFES, Kyungnam University, is a specialist on Northeast Asian affairs, inter-Korean relations, and Korean peace and unification issues. He taught international relations for over thirty years at Eastern Kentucky University and Korean universities. Dr. Kwak is a recipient of Global Peace Foundation's 2012 Innovative Scholarship for Peace Award. He has worked for more than fifteen NGOs. He is now Chairman, Institute for Korean Peninsula Future Strategies. Chairman of the Korean Peninsula Unification Council through Neutralization, Executive Adviser of the Northeast Asian Community Studies Institute, and President of Korean Unification Strategies Research Council (LA, USA). Dr. Kwak is the author, editor, and co-editor of 31 books, including One Korea: Visions of Korean Unification (Routeledge, 2017), North Korea and Security Cooperation in Northeast Asia (Ashgate, 2014), etc.
He has authored more than 250 scholarly articles and is a freelance writer for Korean daily newspapers, monthly magazines, and the Internet.READ MORE ARTICLES
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October 4th, 2016
Koreans wish to achieve Korean unification as a long-term goal, but many obstacles hinder the unification process: from hardline policies coming from Seoul and Pyongyang to the ebb and flow of international geopolitics.
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Peace through neutrality: Unification through a non-aligned Korea
"Neutralization" of the peninsula could end the decades-long division of the peninsula
Koreans wish to achieve Korean unification as a long-term goal, but many obstacles hinder the unification process: from hardline policies coming from Seoul and Pyongyang to the ebb and flow of international geopolitics.
The ROK and the DPRK have insisted on their preferred unification formulae: Seoul cannot accept Pyongyang’s Democratic Federal Republic of Koryo (DFRK) formula, while Pyongyang cannot accept Seoul’s Korean National Community (KNC) formula.
But a concept of peace through neutralization on the Korean peninsula (PNKP) could be an alternative to these conflicting approaches.
NEUTRALIZATION IN THEORY AND PRACTICE
The concept is relatively easy to understand: if the two Koreas make all efforts to neutralize extreme thinking, hard-line policy and behavior, then national reconciliation, harmony of interest, and peace will ensue, and there will be a smooth road to a peaceful unification of Korea. In this world, a unified Korea will remain a non-aligned, neutral state, with a balanced security and foreign policy.
The concept of PNKP should be considered at three levels: (1) the South Korean domestic level, (2) the inter-Korean level, and (3) the international level.
First, ideological cleavages between conservatives and progressives in South Korea need to be resolved, and national consensus on a neutralization unification formula then needs to be achieved. Without an end to ideological cleavages in South Korea, there can be no national consensus.
…a unified Korea will be a non-aligned, neutral state, with no military alliance with any of the four major powers (the U.S., China, Japan, or Russia)
Second, inter-Korean reconciliation, cooperation, and peace needs to be achieved for a neutralized, unified Korea.
Third, a unified Korea will be a non-aligned, neutral state, with no military alliance with any of the four major powers (the U.S., China, Japan, or Russia), but maintaining peaceful and balanced diplomacy with them. The neutralization of the Korean peninsula will be in the best interest of the Korean people and the four powers, resolving inter-Korean ideological conflicts and promoting peace and stability in Northeast Asia.
In the near future, with some improvement in the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula and some progress in peacebuilding on the Korean peninsula, the Korean unification issue through neutralization could be discussed at Six-Party and/or multilateral talks.
CONSIDER AN ALTERNATIVE
A unified Korea is obviously a vision for the future and not a reality for 75 million Koreans. The ROK and the DPRK have lived in hostile confrontation for the last 71 years, but have made little effort to create a unified one Korean state by peaceful means.
The reality is that the two Koreas have failed to agree on a common unification formula because of lack of political will. Neutralization could circumvent this, as a means to promote national reconciliation, harmony of interest, peace, and unification on the Korean peninsula, where the interests of the four major powers intersect. We cannot change geography in Northeast Asia, but we can change history by creating a plan for unification through neutralization.
The two Koreas have failed to agree on a common unification formula because of lack of political will
PREPARING FOR PEACE
A unified Korea’s independence, territorial integrity, and sovereignty would be guaranteed by the four major powers concerned: the U.S., China, Russia and Japan, under the condition that a unified Korea would permanently agree to renounce war except for self-defense.
In the present Northeast Asian security environment, the four powers are unwilling to support Korean unification primarily because their interests are in conflict. However, a unified Korea through neutralization will benefit all parties concerned: the two Koreas and the four powers.
The ROK and the DPRK need to be prepared for a unified, neutralized Korean peninsula. First and foremost they must neutralize themselves by disengaging from the bilateral arms race, military provocations, ideological feuding, and military alliance systems. They have to promote national reconciliation, mutual trust and confidence building measures. Inter-Korean relations will have to improve so that the two Koreas can negotiate with the four major powers on the neutralization on the Korean peninsula.
Neutralization on the Korean Peninsula is based on an assumption that the four powers would prefer a unified, neutral, independent, and peaceful Korea to a divided and unstable one.
POWER POLITICS
There are four key reasons why this is the best – and only feasible – approach.
First, from a geopolitical perspective, the Korean peninsula has long been a victim of a balance of power politics among the major powers surrounding the peninsula for many centuries – neutralization will liberate the Korean peninsula from a balance of power politics.
Neutralization on the Korean Peninsula is based on an assumption that the four powers would prefer a unified, neutral, independent, and peaceful Korea to a divided, unstable one.
Second, from the four major powers’ perspectives, neutralization will be in best interests of the U.S., China, Russia, and Japan. Hence, they will be supportive of a neutralized, denuclearized, unified Korean peninsula.
Third, from the perspectives of the two Koreas, Koreans have suffered from deep ideological cleavages between extreme conservatives and radicals, and neutralization could thus help resolve them. Neutralization would weaken ideological feuds among South Koreans and between the two Koreas as well.
The process would also reduce arms spending by the two Koreas, freeing up more money to invest in economic development projects. Neutralization would also diminish Pyongyang’s incentives as a nuclear state, thereby accelerating the denuclearization and peace-regime-building process on the Korean peninsula.
Fourth, from a unification formula perspective, the ROK and the DPRK have conflicting unification formulae. This approach offers a middle ground.
It is argued that one of the core obstacles to the Korean peace and unification processes is the absence of a common Korean unification formula and a common ideology acceptable to the two Koreas. Transforming various conflicting ideologies such as socialism, Juche ideology (independence or self-reliance), capitalism, democracy, etc. into a common unification ideology seems an impossible task. A neutral, non-aligned Korea could be the answer.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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