Analysis of the Implementation of South Korea s Nordpolitik in 1970s-1990s: Focusing on the Interaction between Environment and Foreign Policy Decision-Making

This paper aims to analyze and assess South Korea s Nordpolitik, which has been considered a starting point of the grand strategy in the history of Korean diplomacy, appraised as a milestone of autonomous diplomacy, and is continuously being reproduced through discourse of peaceful unification of the Korean Peninsula. The origin of Roh Tae-woo administration s Nordpolitik, made official through 7.7 Declaration in 1988, is Park Chung-hee s 6.23 Statement in 1973. In Roh s memoir, Roh also clearly declared that Park s 6.23 Statement was the historical root for his Nordpolitik. Although many studies share the conviction that Roh s Nordpolitik has its roots in 1970 s open-door policy, they have failed to analyze the establishment and implementation of the Nordpolitik from the 1970s to 1990s comprehensively. This paper principally examines South Korea s Nordpolitik from its genesis in Park Chung-hee s 8.15 Declaration in 1970 to its successful implementation via the establishment of diplomatic relationships with communist countries in the 1990s. This study then analyzes the implementation of South Korean Nordpolitik through examining the relationship between environment and foreign policy decision making and concludes by suggesting policy implications of historical implementation of the Nordpolitik to the Korean Peninsula Peace Settlement Initiative and New Northern Policy of South Korea s current administration.