Pacific Affairs: An International Review of Asia and the Pacific

Volume 73, No. 4

 

Peace and Neutrality on the Korean Peninsula: A Role for Canada?
By Robert Bedeski

 

Abstract

Canadian recognition of North Korea and the past decade of interaction suggest that Canada may be well suited to take the lead in further solution of the Korean Peninsula dilemma. The time has arrived to restart the 1954 reunification process that dissolved during the cold war. Without reunification, millions of North Koreans will remain under an oppressive regime, and without neutralization, the Korean Peninsula may continue to be a cradle of regional conflict. For decades, the D.P.R.K. has maintained its reputation as a rogue state with terrorism, alleged development of WMD (weapons of mass destruction), and an unwillingness to abide by international law. Economic bankruptcy and prolonged famine appeared as symptoms of approaching collapse, but Kim Jong Il's regime has managed to survive; in June 2000, he suspended long-standing hostility and met in Pyongyang with South Korean President Kim Dae Jung. If the current trend of thaw continues, there may be opportunities to resolve the tensions of the Korean War, and even move toward reunification of the Korean Peninsula. With Canadian initiative, an international solution to reunification may be possible by restarting the Geneva Conference of 1954, and by working towards a neutralized and reunited Korea.