통일합의서의 법적 성격 및 체결 절차에 관한 고찰

A Study on Legal Character and Conclusion Process of Inter-Korean Unification Agreement

Both Constitutions of South and North Korea stipulate for peaceful reunification of the Korean peninsula. Although it is really difficult to know exactly the way and time of the unification between the South and the North, one thing clearer is that a bilateral agreement between the two Koreas is absolutely necessary in order to achieve that long-awaited national goal. In this respect, this paper deals with some basic and procedural matters of the “Inter-Korean Unification Agreement”, especially from the perspective of international law. Prior to entering main arguments, this paper initially review the multiple legal status of North Korea, from domestic, bilateral and multilateral perspectives respectively. Second, this paper looks into the legal character of the Unification Agreement. Although some South Korean earlier case-law concluded that the 1991 Inter-Koran Basic Agreement was just a gentlemen’s agreement, not a treaty that has a binding force to its parties, the prospective Unification Agreement should be treated differently, considering following practices based on the 2005 Development of Inter-Korean Relations Act and also considering unification policy and strategy. To secure the binding force and its implementation, various domestic and international legal procedures need to be adopted, including registering the Agreement as a treaty at the United Nations.