61. ROK's Nuclear Experiments: A Successful Case of Alliance Management
- Author:
- Steven Kim
- Publication Date:
- 03-2005
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- International Journal of Korean Studies
- Institution:
- International Council on Korean Studies
- Abstract:
- The startling disclosure by the South Korean (Republic of Korea: ROK) government on September 2, 2004, that a small group of its scientists had conducted secret nuclear experiments in 1982 and 2000 raised immediate concerns about possible implications for the six party talks to resolve the North Korean nuclear crisis, including relations among three principals in the talks—South Korea, North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea: DPRK), and the United States. The first concern was that the revelations might put a strain on ROK and US relations, stemming from their differing views over the disposition of the ROK's nuclear issue by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the United Nation's nuclear watchdog; and second was that the DPRK might take advantage of the incident to pursue its own self-interested agenda. Of the two, the possible negative impact on ROK-US relations was the bigger concern among many observers. With ROK-US relations showing strain over the proper negotiating strategy toward the DPRK, it was feared that further differences between the ROK and the US over the South Korean nuclear issue might aggravate their relationship, and, thus, impede the progress of the six-party talks.
- Political Geography:
- United States, South Korea, North Korea, and Korea