A SMART POWER Strategies to the Peace Process on the Korean Peninsula

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

Purpose: The Purpose of this article is to analyze the smart power strategy to the peace process on the Korean Peninsula and to suggest alternatives to build permanent peacebuilding efforts. This paper seeks to answer a key question regarding building a peace regime. What is South Korea’s smart power strategy for the peace regime building on the Korean Peninsula? Simultaneously, this paper also analyzes various South Korea’s domestic opinions over the North Korean nuclear issues.
Method: This study analyzed ROK's Smart power strategies toward peace regime building on the Korean Pe-ninsula. Smart Power means developing an integrated strategy, resource base, and tool kit to achieve objectives, drawing on both hard(military muscle, economic might) and soft power(economic aid, sharing culture). It is an approach that underscores the necessity of a strong military but also invests heavily in alliances, partnerships, and institutions at all levels to expand the state's influence and establish the legitimacy of the action.
Results: The ROK’s smart power strategies to the peace process are as follows. First, in terms of using alliance, South Korea has to call for the U.S to foster a peace regime building on the Korean Peninsula while cooperating with the Biden administration's democratic principle and ideology. Second, in terms of using partnership, South Korea has to induce China to put pressure on the DPRK to abandon nuclear weapons. Third, in terms of using institutions, ROK and DPRK have to transform the current 9/19 inter-Korean military agreement of the initial operational arms control into systemic arms control through early notification of mutual military training.
Conclusion: The essential components of smart power are using alliances, partnerships, and institutions, etc. In this context, South Korea has all the necessary elements of the ROK-US alliance and ROK-China economic partnership, and 9.19 inter-Korean military agreement. In the long and bumpy road of the peace regime building process, it needs strategic optimism in pushing ahead smart power strategies but in building defense posture, they need to be a strategic pessimist.

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