Professor Han Sung-joo: reunification and Korean foreign policy.

• Author: Brown, Bruce

Professor Han Sungjoo, Foreign Minister of the Republic of Korea in 1993-94, spoke to a combined roundtable of the NZIIA and the Centre for Strategic Studies on 20 November 1996. In his opening remarks he commented that when he had taken over as Foreign Minister at the beginning of 1993 he had been given the task of formulating long-term foreign policy goals for the newly elected administration of President Kim Young Sam. As the basis for this policy they had concluded that there were five fundamentals: first, globalisation of the Korean economy; second, a multi-dimensional foreign policy (one not confined to security questions); third, diversification of Korea's international relations; fourth, an Asia-Pacific orientation; and fifth, an orientation towards the future. He noted that those five fundamentals had been accepted by President Kim and had also been put into practice by his two successors as Foreign Minister.

The first principle, of globalisation, had been given effect through Korea's move to join the OECD, now achieved. The second, multi-dimensional foreign policy, meant a broadening of Korea's view away from security and economic questions to other regional and global issues--for example, becoming more active internationally in the United Nations. This had been achieved by Korea's successful campaign for election to the UN Security Council and participation for the first time in a UN peacekeeping operation. Other questions such as disarmament, human rights, environment, and resources also commanded greater attention. The third principle, diversification, involved Korea looking beyond the four great powers--the United States, the Soviet Union, China, and Japan--which had previously taken much of its attention, as had its difficult relationship with North Korea. The new policy involved Korea looking more broadly to the Asia-Pacific region and beyond. He himself had been active at an early stage within PECC and APEC.

The fifth principle, future orientation, involved the question of how reunification should be handled and also the problem of how to manage the existing division in the Korean peninsula in a peaceful, less disruptive but productive way. In their consideration of preparations for unification the Koreans had the German example before them. Professor Han commented that this had not always been helpful because the circumstances of East Germany's absorption by West Germany had made North Korea more defensive and heightened South Korean expectations. Having become convinced that they should not repeat the East German experience, the North Koreans had now declined to have anything to do with the South Korean government. People in South Korea, on the other hand, had become euphoric about the prospect of the German example, with what might be described as the communist side joining the non-communist side and being absorbed by it.

On this key issue of reunification he said that there were a number of questions. The first was...