Research On The Adjustment Of South Korea's Foreign Policy Toward China Under The Background Of North Korea's Fourth Nuclear Test

The Korean Peninsula is located on the eastern of the Eurasian continent,and its strategic position is of great importance.It is an important springboard for maritime powers to enter the Eurasian continent,and has always been an important place for great power games.For historical reasons,the Korean Peninsula is still in a state of separation and north-south confrontation.The fourth nuclear experiment of DPRK in January 2016 coincided with the US's strategy of vigorously promoting the military containment of China and promoting deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense(THAAD)in to the Republic of Korea(ROK).Therefore the fourth nuclear experiment of DPRK has caused extremely serious damage to peace and security in Northeast Asia,and the danger of a slide into war on the Korean Peninsula.The international community reacted strongly after the nuclear test,which was opposed and condemned.After the fourth nuclear experiment of DPRK,ROK on the southern tip of the Korean Peninsula has made major changes in its foreign policy toward China,which involves the political,diplomatic and military aspects of the two countries.In politics,ROK has reduced China's position in ROK's diplomacy.On the diplomatic side,ROK has questioned China's effectiveness on the Korean Peninsula policy.In the aspect of military,ROK despite strong opposition from China,insists on advancing THAAD.The Sino-ROK relations has been rapidly deteriorating from the "model" of state-to-state relations,even towards mutual suspicion and confrontation.The adjustment of ROK's foreign policy toward China is the result of both internal and external factors.In the external factors,first of all,China's position and practice on the fourth nuclear experiment of DPRK,which aroused strong dissatisfaction from ROK.Second,the United States is eager to push THAAD into ROK to increase pressure on ROK.Finally,Japanese factors also affect the adjustment of ROK's foreign policy toward China.In the internal factors,first of all,ROK's domestic political and economic factors.Secondly,social and cultural factors in ROK.Finally,the personal factors of the President also have an important influence on ROK's foreign policy toward China.The adjustment of ROK's foreign policy toward China puts pressure on the security of China's periphery and harms the national interests of China.Therefore,we must take effective measures to deal with it.First,China should take full account of the situation on the peninsula and other external factors such as the US and Japan.Second,we should adjust our foreign policy in a timely manner according to the development and change of domestic political and social culture in ROK so as to reduce the influence of the domestic situation on the bilateral relations between China and ROK.Finally,we should reduce our doubts and increase mutual trust,push forward the further development of China Korea Free Trade Area.In conclusion,we need to take full advantage of the factors that make the most of the best possible response to China's national interests.The adjustment of ROK's foreign policy toward China has severely damaged relations between the two countries,and it is difficult to recover to the previous level in a short period of time.However,the adjustment of ROK's foreign policy toward China is accompanied by nature and is not rooted in the two countries.Because there is no fundamental conflict of interest and structural contradiction of the two countries,and there are many common interests.Therefore,ROK will continue to seek China for the final settlement of the Korean Peninsula issue.