Date: Dec. 6th 2013
Session: Northeast Asia Peace: Korean Unification Vision and Peace-Building in Northeast Asia
Speaker: Dr. Tae-Hwan Kwak; Chair-Professor at Kyungman University; Professor Emeritus at Eastern Kentucky University, Republic of Korea
Européennes 2024 : projection du Parlement européen à trois mois du scrutin
[Dr. Kwak] One Korea Unification Vision through Neutralization: What Should Be Done?
2. One Korea Unification Vision
through Neutralization:
What Should Be Done?
By
Tae-Hwan Kwak, Ph. D.
(Chairman, Institute for Korean Peninsula Future Strategies)
3. <Contents>
I. Introduction
II. Conflicting Unification Formulae of the Two
Koreas
III. One Korea Formula through Neutralization
Regime Building
IV. Strategies for Implementing a Five-Stage
Neutralization-Unification Formula
V. Conclusion
<APPENDIX>
4. Core Arguments:
1. The two Koreas have conflicting
unification formulae of the two Koreas.
2. One Korea unification formula through
neutralization could be an alternative to the
two Koreas’ existing formulae.
3. The roadmap for achieving a five-stage
neutralization unification is provided to
build one Korean state.
5. I. INTRODUCTION
-- Two Koreas on the Korean peninsula: the Republic of Korea (ROK or South
Korea) and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea(DPRK or North Korea)
. The DPRK is a nuclear state, threatening peace and security on the Korean
peninsula and in Northeast Asia. It is stable under the Kim Jong-un regime
-- President Park Keun-hye in February 2013 adopted a new policy toward
North Korea known as “the Korean Peninsula trust-building process,” to
improve hostile inter-Korean relations.
-- The ROK and the DPRK have different unification formulae: the “Democratic
Federal Republic of Koryo” (DFRK) formula of North Korea and the “Korean
National Community” (KNC) unification formula of South Korea. Because of
conflicting unification formulae, an alternative to the existing unification
formulae of the two Koreas is thus desirable.
-- The two Koreas need to agree on a common unification formula. The author
has proposed that a common Korean unification formula through
neutralization be considered as an alternative to the conflicting unification
formulae of the two Korean states.
6. II. Conflicting Unification Formulae
of the Two Koreas
The DPRK’s unification formula: Democratic
Federal Republic of Koryo (DFRK)
• Kim Il Sung set forth the DFRK plan in his report
to the Sixth Congress of the Workers’ Party of
Korea on 10 October, 1980. Kim claimed that it
was “the most realistic and shortest way to
realize Korea’s reunification on the basis of the
three principles of independence, peaceful
reunification and great national unity.” Kim
spelled out the basic features of the DFRK’s
formula, its composition and functions, and the
ten-point policy that should be carried out by
the federal government.
7. The DFRK’s formula is a federal (originally translated as
confederate in English) system in which the two regional
governments can coexist under one roof, i.e., a Supreme
National Federal Assembly (SNFA) and a Federal Standing
Committee (FSC) are the unified government of the federal
state. The SNFA should be formed with an equal number of
representatives from the North and the South and an
appropriate number of representatives of overseas Koreans.
The FSC, a unified government, would guide the regional
governments in the North and the South and administer all
affairs of the federal state. Kim Il Sung in a speech on 9
September, 1983, said, “It would be reasonable that as the
unified government of the federal state, the supreme national
federal assembly and the federal standing committee elect
their respective co-chairman both from the north and
south, who will run these bodies in turn”
8. Deficiencies of the DFRK
The DFRK’s formula has several structural deficiencies.
First, North Korea claims that the DFRK is a complete form of
federation, not an interim step to the final federation form in
the unification process. In fact, if the DFRK is a final form, the
ROK cannot accept it primarily due to the preconditions for
implementing it. Second, how long can such a federal state
survive? There was no mention about power distribution in a
federal state and power sharing between the two regional
governments and a central government in a unified Korea.
Third, there are at least five preconditions for establishing the
DFRK: (1) resignation of the ROK government, (2) abolition of
anti-communist policy in the South, (3) elimination of National
Security Law in the South, (4) U.S. troop withdrawal from the
South, and (5) release of political prisoners, including
communists in the South. Seoul cannot accept these
conditions and the DFRK’s formula, because it perceives the
DFRK as a means to communize the South.
9. The ROK’s Korean National
Community(KNC) Unification Formula
As the Cold War was rapidly dismantled in the late
1980s, President Roh Tae-woo initiated a new
“engagement policy” toward North Korea in a special
declaration of 7 July, 1988. In an address to the
National Assembly on 11 September, 1989, Roh
presented his original Korean National Community
(KNC) unification formula, which has been the official
unification formula of the ROK. Seoul and Pyongyang
reached a set of historic agreements, including the
Basic Agreement, the Joint Declaration on the
Denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, and the
Agreement on the Creation and Operation of Joint
Commissions, which came into effect on 19
February, 1992. Roh’s “engagement policy” toward
North Korea was remarkably innovative and
constructive for improving inter-Korean relations.
10. What is KNC Formula?
President Kim Young Sam modified KNC unification
formula, proposing a national community as a new
paradigm in unification policy. The ROK proposed a
blueprint for a unified Korea through an inter-Korean
confederation by drafting and finalizing a unified
constitution, holding general elections, and forming a
unified legislature and a unified government. The Lee
Myung-bak and Park Keun-hye governments officially
supported the KNC unification formula. In short, the ROK
has supported a three-stage unification formula based on
three principles of independence, peace, and liberal
democracy. The 1st stage: Inter-Korean reconciliation and
cooperation. The 2nd stage: South-North Korean
confederation; and the 3rd stage: Establishment of a unified
Korea. The ROK’s unification vision is to achieve one
nation, one state, one system, and one government through
the KNC unification formula.
12. The second paragraph of the June 15 Joint
Declaration states, “Acknowledging that
there are common elements in the South’s
proposal for a confederation and the North’s
proposal for a federation of lower stage as
the formulae for achieving reunification, the
South and the North agreed to promote
reunification in that direction in the future.”
This declaration is a departure from the
past, symbolizing the end of ideological
arguments.
14. What is Inter-Korean Confederation?
The ROK’s proposal for an inter-Korean confederation
in the June 15 Joint Declaration is, in fact, the second
phase of the ROK’s unification formula. The first
phase of inter-Korean reconciliation and cooperation
in the KNC unification formula will follow the second
phase of the national community
(particularly, economic and social community), which
is an interim stage to a unitary unified Korea.
Therefore, the ROK’s proposal for inter-Korean
confederation assumes one nation, one state, two
systems, and two governments, and the two Koreas
will possess their respective defense and diplomatic
rights. Further, the two Koreas will have an interKorean summit meeting, an inter-Korean
parliamentary meeting, and an inter-Korean cabinet
15. What are common features of
the two proposals?
• First, the two proposals are based on a principle of
peaceful unification.
• Second, the two proposals have an interim stage in
the unification process, not a final stage of Korean
unification.
• Third, North Korea’s proposal for a low-level
federation granted diplomatic and defense rights to
two regional governments. The two regional
governments would participate in the central
government on an equal basis. But the national
(re)unification council is not yet spelled out in detail.
17. <Table 1> Comparison of the Two Koreas’ Unification Formulae
ROK
DPRK
Name
KNC Unification Formula
DFRK Unification Formula
Basic
Ideology
Liberal Democracy
Juche (elf reliance) ideology
Unification
Key Body
All people
Proletariat class
Unification
Principles
Independence, peace and
democracy
Independence, peace and great
national unity
Unification
Process
Three phases: (1)
Gradual completion of a federal
Reconciliation/Cooperation state. Low-level federation-----(2)Confederation-DFRK
(3)A unified, single state
Procedures
for a unified
General, democratic
elections in both Koreas
A series of political negotiations
18. <Table 1> Comparison of the Two Koreas’
Unification Formulae (continued)
Source: Author’s Data Collection
ROK
DPRK
Interim Stage
Confederation
Low-level
federation
Procedures for a General, democratic A series of political
unified Korea
elections in both
negotiations
Koreas
Format of a
1 nation, 1 state, 1
1 nation, 1 state, 2
unified Korea
system,1
systems, 2 regional
government
governments
Future Vision of a Freedom welfare,
A non-aligned
unified
human dignity,
neutral state
Korea
democratic state
19. III. ONE KOREA FORMULA THROUGH
NEUTRALIZATION REGIME BUILDING
• The ROK and the DPRK have insisted on their
own unification formulae. Seoul cannot
accept Pyongyang’s DFRK formula, while
Pyongyang cannot accept Seoul’s KNC
formula either.
Hence, the author proposes a new Korean
unification formula through neutralization as
an alternative.
20. Peace through Neutralization on the
Korean Peninsula (PNKP)
• The concept is simple. If the two Koreas make all efforts to neutralize the extreme
thinking, hard-line policy and behavior, then national reconciliation, harmony of
interest, and peace between them will ensue. PNKP will pave a smooth road to a
peaceful unification of Korea.
• PNKP concept should be considered at three levels: (1) the South Korean domestic
level, (2) the inter-Korean level, and (3) the international level. First, ideological
cleavages between conservatives and progressives in South Korea need to be
resolved through PNKP, and national consensus on a neutralization unification
formula then needs to be achieved. Second, inter-Korean
reconciliation, cooperation, and peace through neutralization need to be achieved
for a neutralized, unified Korea. Third, a unified Korea will be a nonaligned, neutralized state, making no military alliance with any of the four major
powers (the U.S., China, Japan, or Russia), maintaining a peaceful and balanced
diplomacy with them.
• The neutralization of the Korean peninsula will be in the best interest of the Korean
people and the four powers, resolving intra- and inter-Korean ideological conflicts
and promoting peace and stability in Northeast Asia.
• In short, a neutralized peace regime on the Korean peninsula will be achieved if
there is a national consensus on Korean unification through neutralization in the
South and the North.
21. Neutralization Regime-Building as an
Alternative
Neutralization is designed as a means to promote national
reconciliation, harmony of interest, peace, and unification on the
Korean peninsula. In the present Northeast Asian security
environment, the four powers are unwilling to support Korean
unification primarily because their interests are in conflict.
However, neutralization unification will benefit all parties
concerned—the two Koreas and the four powers. Neutralization on
the Korean Peninsula is based on an assumption that the four
powers would prefer a unified, neutral, independent, and peaceful
Korea to a divided, unstable one. Hence, in my view, the four major
powers are likely to support a neutralized, unified Korean
peninsula, which will be in their best interests. Neutralization on
the Korean peninsula is an essential condition for one Korean state
building and will be a win-win strategy for all parties concerned.
22. What is the rationale for neutralization on
the Korean peninsula?
• First, from a geopolitical perspective, the Korean peninsula has been a victim of a
balance of power politics among major powers surrounding the peninsula for
many centuries because of a geopolitical-strategic location, and thus
neutralization will liberate the Korean peninsula from a balance of power politics.
• Second, from the four major powers’ perspectives, neutralization will be in best
interests of the four major powers . Hence, they will be supportive of a
neutralized, denuclearized, unified Korean peninsula.
• Third, from the perspectives of the two Koreas, Koreans have suffered from deep
ideological cleavages between extreme conservatives and radicals, and
neutralization could thus help resolve them. Neutralization could weaken
ideological feuds among South Koreans and between the two Koreas as well.
Further, neutralization will reduce arms spending of the two Koreas, so the two
would invest in economic development projects. In addition, neutralization could
also diminish Pyongyang’s incentives for being a nuclear state, thereby
accelerating the denuclearization and peace-regime-building process on the
Korean peninsula.
• Fourth, from a unification formula perspective, the ROK and the DPRK have
conflicting unification formulae and cannot accept each other’s present
unification formula as discussed above. Thus, the author proposes a
neutralization-unification formula as an alternative to existing two Koreas’
unification formulae.
23. IV.STRATEGIES FOR IMPLEMENTING A
FIVE-STAGE NEUTRALIZATIONUNIFICATION FORMULA
• The idea of a permanent neutralization on the Korean peninsula has
been supported for many centuries by scholars, politicians, and
intellectuals.
• It is significant and encouraging that Dr. Sohn Hak-kyu, a senior
advisor to the Democratic Party, made a proposal for the Korean
peninsula neutralization-unification formula on 16 July, 2012.
• The Charter for Neutralization on the Korean peninsula (see
Appendix) was declared as a neutralization- unification formula on
21 October, 2010 in Seoul, Korea. The Charter proposes the future
vision for a unified Korea through a five-stage neutralization
formula.
• A five-stage neutralization-unification formula for constructing a
unitary, unified, neutralized state will be briefly discussed below.
Let us take a look at the one Korea vision through a five-stage
neutralization-unification formula.
24. <Table 2> Specific Action Plan for a Five-Stage
Neutralization-Unification Formula
1st Stage: Neutralization Preparation
Normalization of Inter-Korean relations through an inter-Korean basic treaty.
Peace and neutralization regime-building: implementation of existing inter-Korean
agreements/ denuclearization/ a Korean peninsula peace treaty will be signed.
2nd Stage: Inter-Korean Neutralization-Unification Formula Agreement
A neutralization regime declaration on the Korean peninsula.
A neutralization-unification formula agreement between the ROK and the DPRK:
Establishment of a joint unification commission, “The South-North Joint Supreme
Unification Council (JSUC),” 200 members; the Standing Committee(20 members);
Th eSecretariat; Joint Arms Control and Disarmament Commission and Joint Military
Command Structure for joint measures against any foreign intervention.
Establishment of inter-Korean economic community through interim stages of
confederation and federation as specified in June 15 (2000) joint statement. 2 states,
2 systems and 2 governments. Inter-Korean confederation stage.
25. <Table 2> a Five-Stage Neutralization
Unification Formula (continued)
3rd Stage: International Neutralization Treaty
A conclusion of a neutralization treaty between the two Koreas and the four
major powers (the U.S., Russia, China, and Japan) and later the URC, recognizing
its permanent neutrality status and its non-alignment policy. The four
powers’ guarantees on a neutralized Korean peninsula. This stage may be in an
inter-Korean federal status.
4th Stage: Neutralization Constitution
Draft of a unified, neutralized constitution and approval by Korean people. Two
Koreas’ adoption of the Constitution. One Korea vision: 1 state, 1 system and 1
government.
5th Stage: General Elections/One Korea
Holding of general, democratic elections on the entire Korean peninsula/
Establishment of a neutralized, denuclearized, unified one Korea/UN member.
The United Republic of Corea (the URC) founded on a Korean traditional ideology of
Hongik Tongil and peace, freedom, equality, democracy, justice and human rights;
The URC, a peaceful, non-aligned, neutralized state, and defensive and armed,
defending its independence and territorial integrity.
26. Requirements for realization of a five-stage
unification through neutralization
1. The political will of the two Korean top leaders is required.
2. The ROK and the DPRK must take the initiative to
persuade the Korean people and the four major powers to
accept a neutralized unification formula to construct a unified
one Korean state.
3. Seoul and Pyongyang need to begin building mutual trust,
first ceasing their arms race, avoiding military confrontation,
and gradually engaging in military-security confidence
building between the two Koreas, to normalize inter-Korean
relations by reducing tensions on the Korean peninsula.
27. V. CONCLUSION
1. The road to a unified Korea through neutralization will be
long, rough, and difficult.
2. The DPRK’s nuclear issue has been a key obstacle to the peace
process on the Korean peninsula, and its denuclearization process
has been long stalled since its long-range rocket launch on 5
April, 2009. Whether the DPRK will resume the denuclearization
process remains to be seen.
3. In the short-term, the denuclearization and peace-regime-building
processes on the Korean peninsula should be pursued
simultaneously. The unification process will be accelerated with the
denuclearization and peace-regime-building processes on the
Korean peninsula.
4. The Korean people as key players must work together for a unified
Korean peninsula and persuade major powers to support a
neutralized, unified Korea, which will be in their best interests.