Should South Korea's foreign policy become more audacious?
South Korea today faces multiple geopolitical challenges. North Korea continues to advance its missile and nuclear capacity, while China’s conflict with Taiwan threatens security in the South China Sea. Beyond East Asia, the Russia-Ukraine War has widened the geopolitical divide between the West and revisionist states. The strategic competition between the U.S. and China increases concerns for South Korea’s economy, which depends on reliable access to the world’s two largest economies. Finally, the impact of climate change poses multifaceted global challenges, which South Korea also cannot avoid.
When President Yoon Suk Yeol was inaugurated last year, he pledged that South Korea would assume a greater role in partnering with other countries to overcome these geopolitical challenges. Specifically, Yoon proposed an “audacious plan” to North Korea to achieve “a lasting peace” on the Korean Peninsula.
Yoon’s foreign policy has focused on expanding strategic partnerships with countries whose strategic interests are aligned with South Korea. The Yoon government has pursued the institutionalization of trilateral partnerships with the U.S. and Japan over multiple security areas, including missile defense, science and technology. After adopting a partnership program with NATO this summer, South Korea signed the Downing Street Accord with the U.K. last month, which pledged bilateral cyber and energy security cooperation.
At the same time, the Yoon government has displayed caution toward escalating geopolitical conflicts. South Korea has declined to send direct military aid to Ukraine despite reports of North Korea supplying arms to Russia. South Korea has reassured China........
© The Korea Times
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