Back
About RSIS
Introduction
Building the Foundations
Welcome Message
Board of Governors
Staff Profiles
Executive Deputy Chairman’s Office
Dean’s Office
Management
Distinguished Fellows
Faculty and Research
Associate Research Fellows, Senior Analysts and Research Analysts
Visiting Fellows
Adjunct Fellows
Administrative Staff
Honours and Awards for RSIS Staff and Students
RSIS Endowment Fund
Endowed Professorships
Career Opportunities
Getting to RSIS
Research
Research Centres
Centre for Multilateralism Studies (CMS)
Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies (NTS Centre)
Centre of Excellence for National Security
Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies (IDSS)
International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research (ICPVTR)
Research Programmes
National Security Studies Programme (NSSP)
Social Cohesion Research Programme (SCRP)
Studies in Inter-Religious Relations in Plural Societies (SRP) Programme
Other Research
Future Issues and Technology Cluster
Research@RSIS
Science and Technology Studies Programme (STSP) (2017-2020)
Graduate Education
Graduate Programmes Office
Exchange Partners and Programmes
How to Apply
Financial Assistance
Meet the Admissions Team: Information Sessions and other events
RSIS Alumni
Outreach
Global Networks
About Global Networks
RSIS Alumni
Executive Education
About Executive Education
SRP Executive Programme
Terrorism Analyst Training Course (TATC)
International Programmes
About International Programmes
Asia-Pacific Programme for Senior Military Officers (APPSMO)
Asia-Pacific Programme for Senior National Security Officers (APPSNO)
International Conference on Cohesive Societies (ICCS)
International Strategy Forum-Asia (ISF-Asia)
Publications
RSIS Publications
Annual Reviews
Books
Bulletins and Newsletters
RSIS Commentary Series
Counter Terrorist Trends and Analyses
Commemorative / Event Reports
Future Issues
IDSS Papers
Interreligious Relations
Monographs
NTS Insight
Policy Reports
Working Papers
External Publications
Authored Books
Journal Articles
Edited Books
Chapters in Edited Books
Policy Reports
Working Papers
Op-Eds
Glossary of Abbreviations
Policy-relevant Articles Given RSIS Award
RSIS Publications for the Year
External Publications for the Year
Media
Cohesive Societies
Sustainable Security
Other Resource Pages
News Releases
Speeches
Video/Audio Channel
External Podcasts
Events
Contact Us
S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies Think Tank and Graduate School Ponder The Improbable Since 1966
Nanyang Technological University Nanyang Technological University
  • About RSIS
      IntroductionBuilding the FoundationsWelcome MessageBoard of GovernorsHonours and Awards for RSIS Staff and StudentsRSIS Endowment FundEndowed ProfessorshipsCareer OpportunitiesGetting to RSIS
      Staff ProfilesExecutive Deputy Chairman’s OfficeDean’s OfficeManagementDistinguished FellowsFaculty and ResearchAssociate Research Fellows, Senior Analysts and Research AnalystsVisiting FellowsAdjunct FellowsAdministrative Staff
  • Research
      Research CentresCentre for Multilateralism Studies (CMS)Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies (NTS Centre)Centre of Excellence for National SecurityInstitute of Defence and Strategic Studies (IDSS)International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research (ICPVTR)
      Research ProgrammesNational Security Studies Programme (NSSP)Social Cohesion Research Programme (SCRP)Studies in Inter-Religious Relations in Plural Societies (SRP) Programme
      Other ResearchFuture Issues and Technology ClusterResearch@RSISScience and Technology Studies Programme (STSP) (2017-2020)
  • Graduate Education
      Graduate Programmes OfficeExchange Partners and ProgrammesHow to ApplyFinancial AssistanceMeet the Admissions Team: Information Sessions and other eventsRSIS Alumni
  • Outreach
      Global NetworksAbout Global NetworksRSIS Alumni
      Executive EducationAbout Executive EducationSRP Executive ProgrammeTerrorism Analyst Training Course (TATC)
      International ProgrammesAbout International ProgrammesAsia-Pacific Programme for Senior Military Officers (APPSMO)Asia-Pacific Programme for Senior National Security Officers (APPSNO)International Conference on Cohesive Societies (ICCS)International Strategy Forum-Asia (ISF-Asia)
  • Publications
      RSIS PublicationsAnnual ReviewsBooksBulletins and NewslettersRSIS Commentary SeriesCounter Terrorist Trends and AnalysesCommemorative / Event ReportsFuture IssuesIDSS PapersInterreligious RelationsMonographsNTS InsightPolicy ReportsWorking Papers
      External PublicationsAuthored BooksJournal ArticlesEdited BooksChapters in Edited BooksPolicy ReportsWorking PapersOp-Eds
      Glossary of AbbreviationsPolicy-relevant Articles Given RSIS AwardRSIS Publications for the YearExternal Publications for the Year
  • Media
      Cohesive SocietiesSustainable SecurityOther Resource PagesNews ReleasesSpeechesVideo/Audio ChannelExternal Podcasts
  • Events
  • Contact Us
    • Connect with Us

      rsis.ntu
      rsis_ntu
      rsisntu
      rsisvideocast
      school/rsis-ntu
      rsis.sg
      rsissg
      RSIS
      RSS
      Subscribe to RSIS Publications
      Subscribe to RSIS Events

      Getting to RSIS

      Nanyang Technological University
      Block S4, Level B3,
      50 Nanyang Avenue,
      Singapore 639798

      Click here for direction to RSIS

      Get in Touch

    Connect
    Search
    • RSIS
    • Publication
    • RSIS Publications
    • CO13023 | A New China Policy for South Korea: Options for President-elect Park
    • Annual Reviews
    • Books
    • Bulletins and Newsletters
    • RSIS Commentary Series
    • Counter Terrorist Trends and Analyses
    • Commemorative / Event Reports
    • Future Issues
    • IDSS Papers
    • Interreligious Relations
    • Monographs
    • NTS Insight
    • Policy Reports
    • Working Papers

    CO13023 | A New China Policy for South Korea: Options for President-elect Park
    Sukjoon Yoon

    07 February 2013

    download pdf

    Synopsis

    President-elect Park Geun Hye will need a new approach towards North Korea and China that differs from her predecessor’s hard-line policy. The new administration must reengage with Pyongyang as part of a broader strategic détente with China, whilst remaining close to the US.

    Commentary

    NORTHEAST ASIA seems to have had enough of confrontation and friction. Throughout the region, from China to Korea and Japan, new administrations have recently been chosen. Remarkably, they have all spoken in support of regional peace and cooperation, apparently moving beyond the political confrontations of 2010-2012 which proved so divisive.

    Across the varied political systems, the new leaders of Northeast Asia – Xi Jinping of China, Shinzo Abe of Japan, and Park Geun Hye of South Korea – are all dynastic successors. This generation of leaders is focusing on new issues, notably on ensuring stability by increased social welfare and health provision, despite the slowdown in their economies. With this shift of emphasis they may feel able to take a more moderate approach to sovereignty issues, and there have been some signals of a willingness to repair ties.

    New spirit of cooperation?

    Initially, however, they may face opposition from more conservative forces including radical nationalists. As the current maritime territorial disputes have become more volatile and violent the new leaders have already sought to restrain internal tensions among their citizens.

    These new administrations prefer negotiations to conflicts, and seem likely to eschew the tactics which produced the existing friction and mistrust. Even the young North Korean leader, Kim Jung-un, recently made an extraordinary appeal for improved relations with the South. There seems to be a new spirit arising, throughout the Northeast Asian region, of “live and let live”.

    The policy of the Republic of Korea (ROK) toward China during the Lee Myung-bak presidency has been constrained by the strategy toward North Korea. In this moment of political transition across Northeast Asia, and in the United States, there is an opportunity, through a new and cooperative vision to build trust.

    Sino-American rivalry

    Whether or not President-elect Park agrees with this analysis, her new government will face several serious strategic quandaries while having to reengage North Korea. Somehow the unsettling rise of China must be moderated and the unwelcome decline of US power and influence must be accommodated. These complexities mandate a more engaged foreign policy approach for Park.

    During Park’s campaign, two issues emerged to the fore: social welfare and North Korea. Her policies on the former drew the support of the middle class, and on the latter gained the votes of traditional conservative groups. She has proposed a “confidence-building process in the Korean peninsula”, she wants to move on from the terrible times of the Cheonan sinking and the Yeonpyeong island bombardment, and to reallocate government spending from defence to social security.

    The Lee presidency’s hard-line approach to North Korea has lost its appeal, and the new president, despite her right-wing heritage and support, is proposing a trust-oriented strategy toward North Korea that is closer to the “Sunshine Policy” promoted by former left-of-centre governments.

    The original “Sunshine Policy” was the brainchild of former president and Nobel Peace Laureate Kim Dae Jung. Lee Myung Bak was elected as a vigorous opponent of this approach toward the North, and throughout his administration Beijing was reluctant to coordinate with Seoul on North Korean issues like nuclear weapons development and the testing of long-range rocketry. The only crumb that Beijing allowed was a change in the relationship with Seoul, from “strategic partnership” to “strategic cooperative partnership”. Many analysts are wondering who is supposed to be responsible for the “cooperative” aspect.

    Park is the first woman president of any country with a Confucian ethos, and the first South Korean president fluent in Chinese. These factors, together with her “aristocratic” family background (as the daughter of President Park Chung Hee) may help her relate to Xi Jinping who is himself a “princeling”. Park apparently understands that her administration needs to do something to produce more cooperative outcomes, and the ROK’s 2013 budget, published late last year, increases the funds for projects related to North Korea, as promised during her campaign.

    More broadly, the Park administration must strike a balance between the rise of China and the decline of the US, which will require strategic deftness and sensitivity. But the ROK’s relations with the US and China need not be a zero-sum game: the relaxation of ideological constraints should lead to a general improvement in Sino-Korean interactions, which will also allow a fine tuning of the US-ROK security alliance.

    The ROK, as a middle power, should be neutral over the rivalry between the US and China. The most effective route to strategic autonomy for the ROK may be to formulate a “trilateral cooperation mechanism” between China, the ROK and the US. Such a creative approach to the complex problems of regional security would create gains for all parties, not least for the ROK itself. The ROK’s new China policy can contribute to defusing the North Korean issue in a manner acceptable to both China and the US.

    Two caveats for Korea’s China policy

    There are, however, two necessary conditions for Korea’s new China policy. Firstly, the incoming Park administration will need a sophisticated approach if it is to identify a fresh and constructive space between the rise of China and the waning influence of the US in the region. It must be ready to seize the opportunity for a foreign policy breakthrough, to bring about a real thaw in relations. Thus, the new government’s special envoy has called China an “indispensable catalyst”, and the ROK now sees its relationship with China as the cornerstone of burgeoning and mutually beneficial economic interactions, based on geographic proximity. Park has indicated her urgent diplomatic focus upon China.

    Secondly, it would be very helpful if a China-ROK “Senior Dialogue for Strategic Communication” could be established, (like that between China and the US). The opaque structure of China’s political system is a confusing tangle of overlapping influence and responsibility, with power shared between party and state, and between central and local government. Such a Senior Dialogue would be able to balance chronic threats, like the standoff between the two Koreas, against acute issues, like the delimitation of overlaps between their Exclusive Economic Zones. Other major issues include illegal fishing by Chinese trawlers beyond the Northern Limit Line, and judicial proceedings; procedures for the proposed ROK-China Free Trade Agreement; and the structural transformation of bilateral trade.

    The two countries could also work jointly to project a new vision of strategic opportunity and to demonstrate how they can work together in the twenty-first century. Ultimately, the true significance of all these frictions, complexities and interactions between China and the ROK can be expressed by a single word: trust. Both sides need to work harder at building a deeper bond of trust, which is indispensable for any further enhancement of relations between China and ROK.

    About the Author    

    Sukjoon Yoon is Senior Research Fellow of the Korea Institute for Maritime Strategy and Visiting Professor of Sejong University, Seoul, South Korea. He contributed this specially for RSIS Commentaries.

    Categories: RSIS Commentary Series

    Synopsis

    President-elect Park Geun Hye will need a new approach towards North Korea and China that differs from her predecessor’s hard-line policy. The new administration must reengage with Pyongyang as part of a broader strategic détente with China, whilst remaining close to the US.

    Commentary

    NORTHEAST ASIA seems to have had enough of confrontation and friction. Throughout the region, from China to Korea and Japan, new administrations have recently been chosen. Remarkably, they have all spoken in support of regional peace and cooperation, apparently moving beyond the political confrontations of 2010-2012 which proved so divisive.

    Across the varied political systems, the new leaders of Northeast Asia – Xi Jinping of China, Shinzo Abe of Japan, and Park Geun Hye of South Korea – are all dynastic successors. This generation of leaders is focusing on new issues, notably on ensuring stability by increased social welfare and health provision, despite the slowdown in their economies. With this shift of emphasis they may feel able to take a more moderate approach to sovereignty issues, and there have been some signals of a willingness to repair ties.

    New spirit of cooperation?

    Initially, however, they may face opposition from more conservative forces including radical nationalists. As the current maritime territorial disputes have become more volatile and violent the new leaders have already sought to restrain internal tensions among their citizens.

    These new administrations prefer negotiations to conflicts, and seem likely to eschew the tactics which produced the existing friction and mistrust. Even the young North Korean leader, Kim Jung-un, recently made an extraordinary appeal for improved relations with the South. There seems to be a new spirit arising, throughout the Northeast Asian region, of “live and let live”.

    The policy of the Republic of Korea (ROK) toward China during the Lee Myung-bak presidency has been constrained by the strategy toward North Korea. In this moment of political transition across Northeast Asia, and in the United States, there is an opportunity, through a new and cooperative vision to build trust.

    Sino-American rivalry

    Whether or not President-elect Park agrees with this analysis, her new government will face several serious strategic quandaries while having to reengage North Korea. Somehow the unsettling rise of China must be moderated and the unwelcome decline of US power and influence must be accommodated. These complexities mandate a more engaged foreign policy approach for Park.

    During Park’s campaign, two issues emerged to the fore: social welfare and North Korea. Her policies on the former drew the support of the middle class, and on the latter gained the votes of traditional conservative groups. She has proposed a “confidence-building process in the Korean peninsula”, she wants to move on from the terrible times of the Cheonan sinking and the Yeonpyeong island bombardment, and to reallocate government spending from defence to social security.

    The Lee presidency’s hard-line approach to North Korea has lost its appeal, and the new president, despite her right-wing heritage and support, is proposing a trust-oriented strategy toward North Korea that is closer to the “Sunshine Policy” promoted by former left-of-centre governments.

    The original “Sunshine Policy” was the brainchild of former president and Nobel Peace Laureate Kim Dae Jung. Lee Myung Bak was elected as a vigorous opponent of this approach toward the North, and throughout his administration Beijing was reluctant to coordinate with Seoul on North Korean issues like nuclear weapons development and the testing of long-range rocketry. The only crumb that Beijing allowed was a change in the relationship with Seoul, from “strategic partnership” to “strategic cooperative partnership”. Many analysts are wondering who is supposed to be responsible for the “cooperative” aspect.

    Park is the first woman president of any country with a Confucian ethos, and the first South Korean president fluent in Chinese. These factors, together with her “aristocratic” family background (as the daughter of President Park Chung Hee) may help her relate to Xi Jinping who is himself a “princeling”. Park apparently understands that her administration needs to do something to produce more cooperative outcomes, and the ROK’s 2013 budget, published late last year, increases the funds for projects related to North Korea, as promised during her campaign.

    More broadly, the Park administration must strike a balance between the rise of China and the decline of the US, which will require strategic deftness and sensitivity. But the ROK’s relations with the US and China need not be a zero-sum game: the relaxation of ideological constraints should lead to a general improvement in Sino-Korean interactions, which will also allow a fine tuning of the US-ROK security alliance.

    The ROK, as a middle power, should be neutral over the rivalry between the US and China. The most effective route to strategic autonomy for the ROK may be to formulate a “trilateral cooperation mechanism” between China, the ROK and the US. Such a creative approach to the complex problems of regional security would create gains for all parties, not least for the ROK itself. The ROK’s new China policy can contribute to defusing the North Korean issue in a manner acceptable to both China and the US.

    Two caveats for Korea’s China policy

    There are, however, two necessary conditions for Korea’s new China policy. Firstly, the incoming Park administration will need a sophisticated approach if it is to identify a fresh and constructive space between the rise of China and the waning influence of the US in the region. It must be ready to seize the opportunity for a foreign policy breakthrough, to bring about a real thaw in relations. Thus, the new government’s special envoy has called China an “indispensable catalyst”, and the ROK now sees its relationship with China as the cornerstone of burgeoning and mutually beneficial economic interactions, based on geographic proximity. Park has indicated her urgent diplomatic focus upon China.

    Secondly, it would be very helpful if a China-ROK “Senior Dialogue for Strategic Communication” could be established, (like that between China and the US). The opaque structure of China’s political system is a confusing tangle of overlapping influence and responsibility, with power shared between party and state, and between central and local government. Such a Senior Dialogue would be able to balance chronic threats, like the standoff between the two Koreas, against acute issues, like the delimitation of overlaps between their Exclusive Economic Zones. Other major issues include illegal fishing by Chinese trawlers beyond the Northern Limit Line, and judicial proceedings; procedures for the proposed ROK-China Free Trade Agreement; and the structural transformation of bilateral trade.

    The two countries could also work jointly to project a new vision of strategic opportunity and to demonstrate how they can work together in the twenty-first century. Ultimately, the true significance of all these frictions, complexities and interactions between China and the ROK can be expressed by a single word: trust. Both sides need to work harder at building a deeper bond of trust, which is indispensable for any further enhancement of relations between China and ROK.

    About the Author    

    Sukjoon Yoon is Senior Research Fellow of the Korea Institute for Maritime Strategy and Visiting Professor of Sejong University, Seoul, South Korea. He contributed this specially for RSIS Commentaries.

    Categories: RSIS Commentary Series

    Popular Links

    About RSISResearch ProgrammesGraduate EducationPublicationsEventsAdmissionsCareersVideo/Audio ChannelRSIS Intranet

    Connect with Us

    rsis.ntu
    rsis_ntu
    rsisntu
    rsisvideocast
    school/rsis-ntu
    rsis.sg
    rsissg
    RSIS
    RSS
    Subscribe to RSIS Publications
    Subscribe to RSIS Events

    Getting to RSIS

    Nanyang Technological University
    Block S4, Level B3,
    50 Nanyang Avenue,
    Singapore 639798

    Click here for direction to RSIS

    Get in Touch

      Copyright © S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies. All rights reserved.
      Privacy Statement / Terms of Use
      Help us improve

        Rate your experience with this website
        123456
        Not satisfiedVery satisfied
        What did you like?
        0/255 characters
        What can be improved?
        0/255 characters
        Your email
        Please enter a valid email.
        Thank you for your feedback.
        This site uses cookies to offer you a better browsing experience. By continuing, you are agreeing to the use of cookies on your device as described in our privacy policy. Learn more
        OK
        Latest Book
        more info