주변국의 대북정책과 김정은의 대외정책 전망

Policies toward North Korea among Neighboring Countries and the Prospects of Kim Jong Un’s Foreign Policies

This paper aims to investigate North Korean foreign relations during the Kim Jong-un era by analyzing the purposes of North Korean foreign policy as well as policies toward North Korea by five neighboring countries, namely; USA, China, Japan, Russia and the Republic of Korea. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, North Korea was forced to change its diplomatic strategies. This lack of counterparts (The Soviet Union and its allies) meant that no one could promise the safety of North Korea. In this situation, establishing relationships with Western nations was an inevitable decision for the North. North Korea, under the huge strain of ensuring the security of its regime, is willing to negotiate with the five countries (USA, China, Japan, Russia, the Republic of Korea) in an effort to guarantee its survival. On the other hand, all five countries’ common goal is North Korea’s denuclearization. Among the five countries, Republic of Korea and the USA are making great efforts towards the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula. Primarily owing to the abduction of Japanese citizens, dealing with the abduction issue has been the highest priority for Japan’s policy toward North Korea. In turn, China and Russia have propped up North Korea in the expectation that this would prevent the regime’s collapse, which could possibly derail their economic policies.