09-151.pdf

aising incidents, the MAC has played a crucial role in maintaining
peace. This opinion is true even though most meetings have been
characterized by a zero-sum game, not only when incidents have been
on the agenda but also when contentious issues such as American
troops in South Korea, rearmaments and military exercises were
repeatedly raised from the 1960s onwards. Due to the impact of the
war legacy and the Cold War, work has been characterized by a lack
of the trust and credibility that are necessary to pursue fruitful
negotiations.
However, during such serious incidents as the 1968 Pueblo
affair and the 1976 axe murder, the MAC played a crucial role in
resolving the incidents, although a solution in the former case forced
the UNC/MAC to go as far as to make a false confession that was
repudiated immediately after it was signed to save the crew. Both
through the MAC and through the presence of American troops in
South Korea, the UNC has made an important contribution to
securing peace, which it would have been difficult for South Korea to
achieve without this presence. Although only two examples are
recorded of imports of military equipment from the Soviet Union to
North Korea, the North has also been dependent on external support
for its defence.
The division of the Joint Security Area in 1976 deviates from the
zero-sum pattern, but it could not prevent the first and last exchange
of fire between guards across the MDL in 1984, causing casualties on
both sides after a Soviet citizen had defected unexpectedly. Unlike the
Pueblo incident and the axe murder, the 1993-94 nuclear crisis was
handled outside the Armistice Agreement, as has been the case with
the nuclear issue after it re-appeared in 2002. In other words,
General Conclusions
521