Korean Foreign Policy and Unification Policy
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Themes in South Korea's Foreign Policy
Quest for legitimacy
The legitimacy has played a great role in South Korean foreign policy, since the country was liberated and divided in 1945, it has been important to get as many countries as possible on ones side. Before the Korean War it seemed like the UN supported South Korea, but that depends on how the UN statement was interpreted.
During the Korean War 16 UN members fought on the South Korean side and only China fought with the North Koreans.
After the war, a struggle for reconnection began between Seoul and Pyongyang, in the 1950s the two countries had almost an equal number of countries who recognised them, but that changed when Park Chung Hee took power in 1961. He succeeded in getting recognition and diplomatic relation with 67 countries where as Pyongyang only got diplomatic ties with 20 countries.
North Korea improved their diplomatic relations in the 1970s and some countries started to recognise both countries. North Korea also got more influence in the UN, and had some small success in that forum. In 1991, both Koreas became full members of the UN.
Quest for Security
Since the founding of the South Korean republic, it has been important for the state to seek security through its foreign policy. South Korea has mainly turned to the U...