The Unification of Korea: Choices for a New Nation - Bringing North and South Korea Together, Rising Power of China...
- ISBN-10
- 1707038139
- ISBN-13
- 9781707038138
- Pages
- 82
- Language
- English
- Published
- 2019-11-09
- Authors
- Department of Defense, U S Military, Barton Johnke
Description
This monograph looks at the potential impact a unified Korea might have upon the regional and global competition. Although numerous concerns surround the peninsula's future, one might ask two primary questions in regard to unification and the balance of power: "What would unification look like?" and "What strategic impact would a unified Korea have on regional and global international relations?" Complicating this issue is the rising power of China and competing United States interests in the region. The regional dynamics and history of the Korean Peninsula provide insight into how South Korea, North Korea, and other nations in the region have behaved to meet their national interests in similar situations. This monograph will offer answers by using international relation theories to propose that if unification occurs, it will result in an absorption unification model, with Korea hedging its alliances with the United States and China in order to meet its national interests.This compilation also includes a reproduction of the 2019 Worldwide Threat Assessment of the U.S. Intelligence Community.Illustrating its strategic importance in the international arena, the Korean Peninsula touts a history of occasionally playing center stage as global powers have vied for economic, military, and political leverage. With the division of the peninsula after World War II, its strategic importance and potential for conflict has magnified. This division sought to balance interests in the region by limiting the geographic advantage of any regional power gaining the peninsula's sole control. Although the division has produced a certain level of stability, maintaining this constancy has grown difficult, considering that a primary goal of both North and South Korea focuses on reunification. Politically, the Korean Peninsula sits at the "crossroads" of the Pacific powers of Russia, China, Japan, and the United States, which further compounds the peninsula's complexity for regional security interests. Economically, the Korean Peninsula plays a vital role in the Asia-Pacific region, which includes "four of the ten largest economies in the world." Specifically, China has exhibited remarkable growth, rising to dominance in the region and as a global competitor with the United States. The evolution of the two Koreas over recent decades and the potential for unification poses new and old questions as great power competition focuses once again on the Asia-Pacific region. Although numerous concerns surround the peninsula's future, one might ask two primary questions in regard to unification and the balance of power: "What would unification look like?" and "What strategic impact would a unified Korea have on regional and global international relations?" This monograph will offer answers by using international relation theories to propose that if unification occurs, it will result in an absorption unification model, with Korea hedging its alliances with the United States and China in order to meet its national interests.
