[Global NK Commentary]
Tokyo’s View on the Korean Peninsula and Regional Security
Ryo Sahashi, Associate
Professor at the University of Tokyo, discusses North Korea’s continued
military armament and nuclear proliferation and stresses the importance of ROK-U.S.-Japan
cooperation in countering this threat. Specifically, Dr. Sahashi notes that the
international community needs to maintain its goal of the complete
denuclearization of North Korea and that Japan and South Korea, whose security
are indissolubly intertwined, must first focus on building a strong
partnership. He argues that the recent victory of the Liberal Democratic party
and solid political base present Tokyo with an opportunity for a proactive
North Korean policy, one that might include increased diplomacy with Seoul.
[Global NK Research Review] From “Songun Politics” to the
Principle of “The State” and “The People”: Changing Ideology in the Kim Jong-un
Era
Hyesuk
Kang (Korea Institute of Political Science) and Kyungmo Ahn (Korea National
Defense University) examine how North Korean ideologies have changed under the
Kim Jong-un regime and outline the policy implications of this evolution. They
find that the “Our State First” and “People First” principles have come to
replace Songun (military first)
thought as the pillars of North Korean government ideology. As North Korea
veers sharply back towards conservativism and strict socialism, Dr. Kang and
Dr. Ahn argue that we must evaluate what went wrong in the 1990s, when the
international community’s de-radicalization attempts only pushed North Korea
further toward the extreme, in order to avoid repeating the same mistakes.
[Global NK Special Report] Sustainability of North Korean
SDGs: Current Status and Challenges
Gyubin Choi, Research Fellow at the Korea
Institute for National Unification, analyzes the implications of North Korea’s
implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which was reported
through its 2021 Voluntary National Review. Looking forward, Dr. Choi proposes
that South Korea and the international community should continue to support
North Korea in its efforts toward sustainable development. However, as
Pyongyang is likely to prefer international and multilateral cooperation over
bilateral cooperation with South Korea, Seoul should proceed cautiously,
formulating its North Korea strategy based on a nuanced understanding of the
North’s development agenda. EAST ASIA INSTITUTE 1, Sajik-ro7gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul, 03028, Republic of KoreaTel 82 2 2277 1683 | Fax 82 2 2277 1684 | Email EAICopyright 2021 © EAST ASIA INSTITUTE. All Rights Reserved. 수신거부 Unsubscribe |
