Foreign relations of South Korea
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Template:Politics of South Korea
The foreign relations of South Korea are dominated by its relationships with its neighbors North Korea, Japan, and China, and with ally United States of America.
In August 1991, South Korea joined the United Nations along with North Korea and has remained active in most United Nations agencies and many international forums. The Republic of Korea has also hosted major international events such as the 1988 Summer Olympics and the 2002 World Cup Soccer Tournament (co-hosted with Japan).
The Republic of Korea maintains diplomatic relations with more than 170 countries and has a broad network of trading relationships. The United States and Korea are allied by the 1954 Mutual Defense Treaty. Korea and Japan coordinate closely on numerous issues including consultations with the United States on North Korea policy.
Economic considerations have a high priority in Korean foreign policy. The ROK seeks to build on its economic accomplishments to increase its regional and global role. It is a founding member of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum.
Inter-Korean relations
The possibility of Korean reunification has remained a prominent topic. However, no peace treaty has yet been signed with the North. In June 2000, a historic first North-South summit took place, part of the South's continuing Sunshine Policy of engagement. Since then, regular contacts have led to a cautious thaw.
Since the Korean War, relations between North and South Korea have been strained. Official, though irregular and highly secret, contact did not occur until in 1971; these meetings led to Red Cross contacts and family reunification projects but not to a peace treaty or lessening of military tensions. With the military coup that put Chun Doo-hwan in power all contact ceased; the 1983 attempt on Chun's life ended the possibility of their resumption.
In the run-up to the 1988 Seoul Olympics, Chun's hand-picked successor Roh Tae-woo formally instituted the policy of Nordpolitik. These years saw the South reach out to the Communist nations which were the North's regular allies. Success came slowly at first, beginning with small ties with the Soviet Bloc countries, but accelerated rapidly with the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the Soviet Union. By 1992, when both nations had been admitted the UN, the South's ties with the North's formerly stalwart allies were growing close.
The nuclear crisis of the early 1990s likely stemmed from the success of Nordpolitik, and the subsequent death of North Korean president Kim Il-sung left the South's Northern policy uncertain. Some believed the regime would continue; others foresaw an imminent collapse and counseled a hard line. Eventually Kim's son Kim Jong-il consolidated his power, though many observers were uncertain how strong his hold on the reins was. For South Korean policy, the next few years would be characterized by both uncertainty and a default continuation of the hard line policies.
Relations improved following the 1997 election of Kim Dae-jung. His "Sunshine Policy" of engagement with North Korea set the stage for the historic June 2000 Inter-Korean summit. President Kim was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2000 for the policy. With that policy, continued by the current administration of Roh Moo-hyun, economic ties between the two countries have increased, humanitarian aid has been sent to North Korea, and some divided families have been briefly reunited. Military ties remain fraught with tension, however, and in 2002 a brief naval skirmish left four South Korean sailors dead, leaving the future of the Sunshine policy uncertain. The North cut off talks but the South remained committed to the policy of reconciliation and relations began to thaw again. The resurgence of the nuclear issue two years later would again cast relations in doubt, but the South has sought to play the role of intermediary rather than antagonist, and economic ties are growing again.
Japan
South Korea's relations with Japan continue to be turbulent, primarily due to a number of disputes between the two countries stemming from Korea's colonial past. Examples include the "East Sea" or "Sea of Japan" naming dispute, visits by successive Japanese Prime Ministers to the Yasukuni Shrine, and the disputed ownership of the Liancourt Rocks (known as Dokdo in Korean, Takeshima in Japanese).