1st Edition

The Korean Peace Process and the Four Powers

By Tae-Hwan Kwak, Seung-Ho Joo Copyright 2003

    This title was first published in 2003. After the inter-Korean Summit in 2000, the Korean peace process gained a new momentum and the two Koreas increased mutual contacts and exchanges. However, in 2001 the peace process stalled and was further hindered by Bush's hard-line policy towards Pyongyang and North Korea's inflexible attitudes towards Seoul. Interest in the Korean peninsula by the US, Russia, Japan and China, for geo-strategic and geo-economic reasons means that peace and unification will inevitably become an international problem. Against this backdrop, this original volume deals with the problems and prospects of the inter-Korean peace process and the interests, attitudes and policies of these major powers.

    Contents: Introduction, Tae-Hwan Kwak and Seung-Ho Joo; The Korean peace-building process: problems and prospects, Tae-Hwan Kwak; North Korea's changes and the future of inter-Korean relations, Tae-Hwan Kwak and Seung-Ho Joo; North Korea's engagement motives, C.S. Eliot Kang; The United States and the Korean peace process, Edward A. Olsen; China and the Korean peace process; Quansheng Zhao; Japan and the Korean peace process, Yoshinori Kaseda; Russia and the Korean peace process, Seung-Ho Joo; Index.

    Biography

    Kwak, Tae-Hwan; Joo, Seung-Ho

    'The tragedy of the division of the Korean Peninsula has been one of the most difficult issues facing the international community for more than 50 years and once again this problem has emerged as a central threat to peace in the Asian region. The need for a thorough and clear-sighted analysis of the issues involved has never been greater, and the authors of this book are uniquely qualified to give us such an understanding.' Professor John McKay, Monash University, Australia 'In the aftermath of the war in Iraq, Korea has emerged as the next potential flashpoint in American foreign policy. This timely book by Professors Kwak and Joo outlines clearly the dangers and policy options in the nuclear crisis facing that peninsula. Because this is also a regional issue, the book carefully and comprehensively assesses the interests and policies of the four major powers (Japan, China, Russia, and the United States) with a stake in regional stability and peace in East Asia. The contributors are among the leading experts in the field, making this volume both significant and authoritative.' Dr. Wayne Patterson, St. Norbert College, Wisconsin, USA