SOUTH KOREA INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
The strengthening of democratic values and civil society and an increasingly transparent market economy in South Korea has permitted the creation of better and closer links in all the regions of the world. South Korea maintains diplomatic relations with approximately 170 countries. The country has also been a member of the United Nations since 1991, when it joined at the same time as North Korea. On January 1, 2007, South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon assumed the post of UN Secretary General. It has also developed links with ASEAN as both a member of "ASEAN Plus three" and the East Asia Summit (EAS). Korea has recently reached free trading agreement with USA.
The following is an overview of Korea’s international relations with its neighboring countries, its major allies and the Middle Eastern countries.
Korea – Japan Relations
The two countries are natural partners. Both are U.S. allies, democratic societies, and share similar values and security concerns. In addition to common interests, Japan and South Korea share similar customs, culture and language. All these suggest that it is logical and desirable for the two countries to have a strong and cooperative bilateral relationship. However South Korea's relations with Japan continue to be turbulent due to a number of unsettled Korean-Japanese disputes, many of which stemmed from the period of Japanese occupation. Longstanding issues, such as Japanese war atrocities against Korean civilians, the visits by Japanese politicians to the Yasukuni Shrine honoring convicted war criminals, the re-writing of Japanese textbooks to overlook Japanese aggression during World War II, and the territorial disputes over the islands of Dokdo (known as "Takeshima" in Japanese), continue to trouble Korean-Japanese relations.
Korea – China Relations
Because of complementary economic needs and geographic proximity, South Korea and China established formal diplomatic relations on August 24, 1992.
Active South Korean-Chinese people-to-people contacts have been encouraged. Academics, journalists, and particularly families divided between South Korea and China were able to exchange visits freely in the late 1980s.
In 2003, China displaced the United States as South Korea's largest trading partner. The alteration in South Korean trading priorities represented a tectonic shift for the region and, combined with growing friction in Seoul's alliance with Washington, reinforced the populace's growing perception of a national future more closely aligned with China.
South Korea – North Korea Relations
Both North and South Korea continue to officially claim sovereignty over the entire peninsula. Despite longstanding animosity following the Korean War in 1950 (which has still not officially ended), the South and North have in recent times sought to establish a more conciliatory relationship. Events such as family reunifications and the Olympic Games, where the two Koreas entered the opening ceremonies together but still competed as separate teams, promised a gradual thaw in the North-South relationship. However, the progress has been complicated by North Korean missile tests in 1993, 1998 and 2006.
Korea – Russia Relations
In a fundamental sense, the Soviet economic crisis appeared responsible for Moscow's improved relations with Seoul. Politically, Gorbachev had signaled Soviet interest in improving relations with all countries in the Asia-Pacific region irrespective of sociopolitical system, including South Korea.
Improved Seoul-Moscow relations appear to have been carefully and systematically planned in three related stages: sports, trade, and political relations.
- Sports relation
The Seoul Olympics was a major catalyst. Moscow sent more than 6,000 Soviets to South Korea. Soviet tourist ships came to Pusan and Incheon and Aeroflot planes landed in Seoul. And when the Soviet team headed for home, it took along lots of gifts from Daewoo.
- Trade relations
Seoul has welcomed trade opportunities with Moscow and considers the Soviet Union a significant part of the global market. Moreover, the natural resources Seoul increasingly needs--oil, metals, timber, and fish--are abundant in the Soviet Far East.
- Political relations
Both countries have been successful in a variety of bilateral programs, and acknowledge that since Russia has certain advantages in basic technology and Korea has strengths in applied technology and capital, both countries should cooperate more closely to complement their respective strengths. Because Russia needs to exert greater effort to take better advantage of its technology for commercial purposes, it has called for widening the avenue of practical cooperation between the two countries.
Korea – United States Relations
South Korea's relations with the United States have been most extensive since 1948, as the U.S. was the main driver in the establishment and initial sustenance of South Korea and had fought on its UN-sponsored side in the Korean War (1950–1953). During the subsequent four decades, South Korea experienced tremendous economical, political and military growth, and lost US dependency.
In 1989 the United States was South Korea's largest and most important trading partner. South Korea was the seventh-largest market for United States goods and the second largest market for its agricultural products. Friction, however, had been caused in the late 1980s by South Korea's trade surplus. Correcting and eliminating this trade imbalance became the center of economic controversy between Seoul and Washington. Since the 1990s the two nations have often been at odds with regard to their policies towards North Korea, and over the rise of anti-American sentiment.
A new generation of South Koreans, assertive and nationalistic, are less mindful of the Korean War and less grateful for American intervention in the conflict and more resistant to what they see as a U.S. attempt to control its military and political affairs as well as Washington's singular focus on terrorism. The United States has opposed South Korean engagement efforts with North Korea, and has also moved to increase its ties with Japan. The Bush administration's foreign policy, including the war on terror, its castigatory stance toward North Korean nuclear weapons, and particularly the invasion of Iraq, is highly unpopular in South Korea, according to opinion surveys there.
Korea – EU Relations
Today’s relationship between the Republic of South Korea and the EU is founded on:
- Increasingly shared political values.
- Strong economic links reflecting large bilateral trade and investment flows.
- The EU's reiterated support for South Korea’s policy of engagement with the North.
Back in 1996 the two countries signed The Framework Agreement and its attached Political declaration. The Agreement commits the parties to work towards fostering growth of two way trade and investment and encouraging broad-based cooperation initiatives including in the fields of justice and home affairs, science and technology, and culture. Since then bilateral trade and investment relations have flourished. EU remains the largest investor in South Korea representing 31% of foreign capital. Apart from WTO, both parties also have a close relationship within the Asian Europe meeting (ASEM). Moreover, the "Trans-Eurasia Information Network" launched in 2001 is one of the joint EU-Korea initiatives
Korean – Middle Eastern Countries Relations
Korea and the Middle East region have reciprocal and complementary structures in terms of the economy. Energy resources in the Middle East are a crucial factor for Korea in maintaining stable economic development. The two sides have closely worked together over the years in various areas, including construction and plant projects, shipbuilding, finance and information and communication technology.
South Korean companies used the era of petrodollars to deepen their penetration of the Middle Eastern market. During the 1980s and 1990s, they signed significant building contracts with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Iraq, and Libya. Chaebols were involved in the construction of roads, railroads, ports and other maritime projects, setting up industrial complexes, and even housing construction. From 1976 to 1982, South Korean corporations signed contracts with Arab countries for a total value of $55.8 billion.
At present, Korea and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) are working together to drastically enhance trade and investments between the two regions. If successful, Korea and the Middle East are expected to further galvanize broad-based growth on a reciprocal basis.
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