韓中 頂上 간 한반도 통일 談論의 明暗

• 발행기관: 신아시아연구소(구 신아세아질서연구회)
• 저자명: 이동복(李東馥)
• 간행물 정보: 『신아세아』新亞細亞 第22卷 第3號, 24~33쪽, 전체 10쪽
• 주제분류: 사회과학 > 정치외교학
• 파일형태: PDF
• 발행일자: 2015.09.30

영문 초록

The disclosure by President Park Geun Hye that she and President Xi Jinping of China had “agreed,” when they met in Beijing on September 2,2015, to “cooperate with each other for ‘peaceful unification’ of the Korean Peninsula” caught many students of Korean affairs by surprise, triggering optimism about the possibility of new momentum in the debate on Korean unification. President Park said that she and Xi had talked about unification in the context of “peaceful unification,” a major departure from “independent peaceful unification” phraseology coined by North Korea that has unilateral “preconditions” that bar Seoul from engaging in a dialogue with the North on unification. Traditionally, China’s leadership held to this phraseology when addressing Korean unification, while insisting that unification would have to be “a matter for resolution independently between the two Koreas.” This made it impossible for China and the Republic of Korea to conduct a serious dialogue on the issue. Thus, it was significant that Presidents Park and Xi talked seriously about Korean unification by avoiding references to the controversial phraseology and coming up with an alternative phrase that deleted the controversial adjective “independent.” It is premature to assume that the Park-Xi talks would expedite a robust dialogue between the two countries on Korean unification. Both presidents remain ambiguous about the meaning of “peaceful unification,” particularly as President Park was heard speaking about “peaceful unification” more as an “end,” even though the Republic of Korea is constitutionally bound to pursue“liberal democratic unification” as an “end,” while pursuing it through “peaceful means.” Moreover, both presidents are ambiguous about how they would treat North Korea in discussions on Korean unification. The outcome of the Park-Xi talks, and discussions of Korean unification in particular, will be tested in two sets of summit talks: one between President Xi and President Obama on September 25 and the other between Presidents Park and Obama in October. The meeting between Presidents Obama and Xi is particularly likely to provide a testing ground for talks between Park and Obama especially as they relate to the Korean question.

키워드

ROK-PRC Summit Talks Peaceful Unification Independent Peaceful