Human Rights and the Dynamics of Inter-Korean Relations

While relatively slable throughout the postwar period, inlcr Korean relations have been challenged from lime to time by events that occurred on the Korean Peninsula or in the Pacific Region. 5uch events were not uncommon, and, when theyrred， policy makers in se ked 10 mitigate any nega tive effects 50 thal stability could be maintained in inter-Korean relations. Recently, however, the issue of hum3n rights has become salienl and has had the effect of injecting uncertainty into inter*Korean relations. This may seem somewhat strange since human rights is a positive force in intemational affairs and most often resisted only by target states and their allies who find such targeting a threat. Despite this, both North and South Korea resisted the targeting of North Korea as a human rights abuser, and this artide explains why. Specifically, it shows that Seoul s resistance should have been expected because prol1JOI ing a human rights agenda in North Korea injects unceainty into inter-Korean relations and potentially undermines the relative sability that has existed on the penins a throughout the postwar pcriod