The Evolution Of The Korean Government's North Korea Policy (1988-2018)

After the division of Korean peninsula in 1945,the Korean government's North Korea policy has become not only the key factor in inter-Korean relations but also the important indicator of situations in northeast Asia.Since the reforming of the Sixth Republic(1988),the North Korea policy can be described as alternating between conservative and progressive under the framework of peaceful reunification.However,there are still divergences among successive governments,which generate policy flip-flops.It focuses on four basic issues of the North Korea policy,including inter-Korean dialogue,economic and trade cooperation,social and cultural exchange and humanitarian issue.Based on these issues,the research measures the inclusiveness of the North Korea policy by two indexes: 1.inter-Korean dialogue mechanism,2.inter-Korean exchanges and cooperation.Since 1988,the inclusiveness of the policy shows more fluctuant,composing of “the rise period”(1988-1992,1998-2000,2001-2007),“the lag period”(1993-1997)and “the low-volatility period”(2008-)concretely.In fact,it's a result of many causes.Domestic factors affect policy continuity,including domestic political disputes,domestic economy,people's tendency to the North Korea policy and the perception of a North Korea threat.On the other side,international factors affect policy autonomy collectively,involving changes of the US-Korea alliance and the international system in Northeast Asia.Actually,the basic logic of policy evolution implies that the factor of continuity or autonomy restricts the policy formulation and implementation by interacting.When the restriction becomes less,it's easier for Korean government to ensure policy continuity and autonomy,which means the higher inclusiveness of the policy.When the restriction increases by one side,the inclusiveness will descend.Normally,changes of autonomy factors will affect,even transform the inclusiveness of the policy shaped by continuity factors.For double restrictions of two kinds of factors,the Korean government's North Korea policy shows less continuity and weak autonomy.In the current situation,restrictions of continuity factors fluctuating while restrictions of autonomy factors intensifying,the road to prosperity and peace for Korean peninsula remains in dimness;the case for the northeast Asia security is still unstable.