Inter-Korean Relations: A Mirror of China and Taiwan’s Past


The forum participants gather for a photo after chanting “Unification!”
Image: Korea Policy Research Center

When looking at the ongoing issues in inter-Korean relations on an
international scale, they are fairly comparable to the issues affecting China
and Taiwan. Relations between the two Koreas are often perceived as very
dynamic and different from China-Taiwan interactions, but they are actually
quite similar. Unlike the fall of the Berlin Wall and subsequent reunification
of Germany in the late 1980s, South Korea and Taiwan are still not unified with
their communist counterparts: North Korea and China.

On September 23rd, the Korea Policy Research Center hosted a
seminar, titled “Measures for the South-North Korean Agreement: Vision and
Task,” sponsored by the Ministry of Unification, focused on relationship
between Taiwan and China, and its relevance for the situation on the Korean
Peninsula. and inter-Korean relations titled, “Measures for the South-North
Korean Agreement: Vision and Task”.  

Several educators, researchers, and students gathered at the
Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry to listen to presentations and
discussions related to unification. The presenters and discussion participants
were comprised of 12 researchers and professors, including two guest speakers.

The first speaker, Dr. Kejin Zhao, a professor from
the Tsinghua University currently conducting research at the Tsinghua Center
for China’s Strategy and Public Diplomacy in Beijing, opened his presentation
by pointing out that although China, like North Korea, is a communist country,
it opened its doors to the rest of the world to foster better trade relations
and improve not only its economy, but that of its trading partners. He
mentioned that in the beginning stages of China’s development, its relationship
with the US was that of a constructive cooperation, whereas now, China’s rapid
economic development has elevated it to a major competitor.

He continued by remarking that if we consider the state of
affairs between China and Taiwan unification has never played a role; instead,
the two countries improved interrelations through integration–a key facet to be applied to the Korean Peninsula. 

All the presenters at the seminar presented the same theme:
exchange is the key to integration for North and South Korea. Still splintered by war, the two Koreas are very much lacking in exchange. If South Korea helps pry open the doors of the isolated North, the
North could in turn gain confidence and feel less threatened to engage in more
open-door policies, not only domestically, but internationally.

The second guest speaker, Dr. Ming Lee, a professor and Dean
of the College of International Affairs at the National Chengchi University in
Taipei, focused on notions that the current leader of the North Korean regime,
Kim Jong Eun, clearly lacks self-assurance, evident through the execution of
his own uncle, Jang Sung Taek, reported to have pushed Chinese-style “reform
and opening.”

 “Confidence is very important, yet South Korea is
lacking confidence,” Dr. Lee stated, conveying that South Korea forge ahead
with the necessary steps to head integration efforts with the North.  This
is not to say the South must be submissive to the North or their provocations,
but rather, to actively engage with the North in the economic sector. “We
really need more patience,” he concluded.