[硏究論文] 濠洲의 外交政策과 韓半島 問題

[Research Articles] Australia's Foreign Policy toward the Korean Peninsula: Focusing on the North Korean Nuclear Issues

This paper examines the evolution of Australia's foreign policy on Korea in the context of its changing perception on the Asia-Pacific region - int both economic and security dimension. In doing so, it highlights two crucial points as being intertwined. Above all, the importance Australia has attached to South Korea has grown in the past two decades or so. The most important reason for this is the fact that South Korea has become an important trade partner ranked Australia's major export market, alongside Japan and China in Northeast Asia. Given Australia's national interests, a stable security environment in the Korean peninsula - and, by extension, in Northeast Asia - is essential for Australia's economic growth. Against this backdrop, Australia has expressed a great interest in the outstanding North Korean nuclear problem. Also worth noting, the Australian government views the North Korean intention to develop the nuclear arms program as related to international terrorists activities. Clearly, anti-terrorism has become quintessence of Australia's security policy, following the September 11 (2001) incident and the Bali terror in Indonesia in the following year - in which many Australians were killed. Those two events have brought a renewed urgency to the Australian security thinking. That is, Australia's national interest should be defined as much by global terms as geographical ones. Demonstrating this, Australia has actively involved in PSI (Proliferation Security Initiative) in preventing rogue states (including North Korea) acquiring and proliferating WMD, missile, and delivering and transferring related technologies and components. Although Australia is not a very influential power having much diplomatic weight in resolving the North Korean nuclear issue, it still has several edges, in its own right, in helping stopping the North Korean nuclear ambition. Those edges range from Australia's relatively amicable relations with North Korea, its good relations with major interlocutors - especially America and China - in the multilateral talks on the North Korean nuclear issue, to its ideal position as a broker in moderating the tension between the US and North Korea. Considering such assets Australia have, it seems beneficial for South Korea to enlist Australia's mediating role in the process of resolving the North Korean nuclear issue.