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::: KNSI : Korea National Strategy Institute :::
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| RECENT RELEASE |
| ¢º Asiative-A Review of Asian Affairs (2012 March Vol 01) by KNSI |
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"In this respect, Asiative is created to provide a forum for Asian people to access and discuss and share their views on Asian issues. The Korea National Strategy Institute has taken the first step in entering the relay race, and the next runners to take over the baton are all the ordinary people who love Asia, have interest in Asia, and are eager to take part in the task of region-building in Asia.
The first issue of Asiative features the 2012 Seoul Nuclear Security Summit in its Special Features section. Although the NSS meeting created by US President Obama¡¯s initiative could play an important role as a stepping stone toward a widespread denuclearization movement, it is clear that the meeting limits itself in a boundary of the security of nuclear materials only. So, Asiative¡¯s fundamental question upon the Seoul Nuclear Security Summit is: What do we really want—nuclear security or a nuclear-free world?
With KNSI based in Seoul being the publisher, Asiative discusses the issues that affect the Korean Peninsula in the lion¡¯s portion of its pages for the moment. In Inside the Peninsula section, it presents a number of issues regarding South and North Korea to Asian and global people. This issue focuses on the discussion of the prospects of North Korea¡¯s political and economic system in 2012. In addition, Asiative also offers in its In-depth Analysis, and Issues and Debates analytic views and suggestive outlooks on issues touching upon the US, China, Japan, Russia and the Middle East."
¢Ã Asiative_A Review of Asian Affairs
Asiative is a quarterly journal published by the Korea National Strategy Institute (KNSI). The word Asiative is coined from a combination of the words Asian and alternative, creative, initiative. Asiative is committed to serving as a medium for achieving a peaceful Korean Peninsula and global community through discovery of alternative policies for Asia and the world from an Asian perspective.
The Korea National Strategy Institute (KNSI) is an independent, nonpartisan, and not-for-profit public research institution dedicated to developing policy recommendations on Korea's domestic politics and foreign relations, economy and trade, and social and cultural issues. The KNSI seeks to accomplish reconciliation and reunification between South and North Korea based on the principles of independence, democracy, and peace, thereby contributing to an enduring peace in East Asia and around the world.
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| ¢º Seoul Initiative for the Improvement of North Korea Human Rights by Bohyuk Suh |
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Ten years have passed since the human rights conditions in North Korea has drawn international concerns and criticisms, resulting in a string of resolutions adopted by the United Nations human rights mechanisms. Despite such collective efforts, North Korean human rights issue still remains prevalent and pervasive. But why? One can point the finger to North Korea's negative attitude or position on human rights to be one reason, but is that all? Couldn¡¯t it also be possible that the past approaches taken by the international community were problematic? In particular, South Korea's policy toward North Korea shifted back and forth between radical and gradual approaches, at the mercy of the administration in power at the time. With the experience of democratization and rich information base on North Korea under its belt, South Korea is capable of playing a more active role in influencing and improving the North Korean human rights situation. The unique relation between the North and South is unlike any other country, and South Korea can easily utilize such relations to serve the function as the strategic leverage in the future.
This article suggests the concept of "Korean human rights" as an alternative approach for South Korea, to constructively contribute in improving the situation of human rights in North Korea. In addition, the notion of "Korean human rights" will be discussed as a method to overcome the limitations that both South Korea and the international community have faced in the past, and propose a framework that will be applicable to the Korean peninsula for a more effective application of the international human rights conventions at the regional level. Following the introduction, in the next two sections, strategic dynamics of South Korea and the international community will be evaluated and the method of implementation for "Korean human rights" will be discussed in detail. In closing, the article will summarize the main points of the discussion above and raise its limit for further study.
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| ¢º The G20 Calls Truce on Currency War by Wonhyuk Lim |
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The recent G20 agreement doesn't force its members to adopt all the necessary macroeconomic policy or resolve their domestic political problems, but at least it helps to shift the policy focus away from the RMB-USD nominal exchange rate and to larger, more fundamental issues. As such, the agreement qualifies as a step forward. With international coordination taking shape, it is now up to individual nations to craft domestic political consensus to get their policy right. |
| ¢º State of Affairs on the Korean Peninsula after the Cheonan Incident by Suh, Bo-hyuk |
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Whereas the U.S.-North Korean relationship has improved since the disablement stage of nuclear facilities in North Korea in 2008, it has faced more obstacles in 2009 with the second missile testing and exacerbated after the Cheonan sinking. This trend clearly displays the codependence between the inter-Korean relationship and the U.S.-North Korean relationship. Paradoxically, American relations with North Korea have worsened since the inauguration of President Obama, who has persistently renounced the Bush administration¡¯s unilateral diplomacy and emphasized the significance of dialogue. |
| ¢º Improving Human Rights in North Korea: The Interdependence of Peace and Human Rights by Bohyuk Suh |
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Peace is a requirement for the general realization of human rights as well as a human right in itself. Ongoing military tensions such as the armistice on the Korean peninsula, U.S. security threats toward North Korea, and North Korea¡¯s nuclear development are challenges to peace and could make improvement of human rights in North Korea difficult. Therefore, it is meaningless to discuss peace on the Korean peninsula without the improvement of human rights and to discuss human rights in North Korea without peace on the Korean peninsula. Mutual interdependence of peace and human rights on the Korean peninsula is expected to deepen further. |
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