Overconfidence Shattered: North Korean Unification Policy, 1971 ...

Overconfidence Shattered: North Korean Unification Policy, 1971-1975NKIDP Working Paper #2, November 2010Preface“Evil deception” – this is how in November 1972 North Korea’s Deputy Foreign MinisterRi Manseok characterized the new constitution imposed on South Korea by President ParkChung Hee, thus establishing himself as ruler for life. The North saw its overconfident drivetoward peaceful unification and socialist orientation of a Korean peninsula under Kim Il Sungshattered, while the Seoul regime rejoiced in thwarting Northern plans and reaffirming its grip onthe South. But if “deception” existed at all, it was mutual and reciprocal. The early 1970srepresent a unique period in the history of the Korean Cold War; North Korea held its last bestchance to unify the peninsula under its auspices in the wake of Sino-US rapprochement via thebridge of inter-Korean dialogue, shortly before the growing economic gap between the twoKoreas widened to the insurmountable advantage of the South.This paper deals with North Korea’s unification policy about 40 years ago. It was mostlyconceived in Seoul 1 in 2009, when Pyongyang detonated a nuclear device and tested severallong- and short-range missiles. Simultaneously, South Korea experienced some domestic troubleof its own. Whether we speak of the current situation, or of an historical episode that nearly 40years past, the basic Cold War dynamic of the Korean peninsula looks eerily constant: NorthKorea’s overweening ambitions, South Korea’s domestic challenges, and the presence of theUnited States military.1 I want to thank the Institute of Far Eastern Studies of Kyungnam University and the University forNorth Korean Studies in Seoul for their generous support during my stay.www.wilsoncenter.org/nkidp 2