One country which remains divided as a relic of poor international relations is Korea. Although Korea has always been historically divided into an industrious North, and agrarian South, the division has never been as hostile as it is today. Despite the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the supposed end of history which would see the liberal ideal triumph, the DPRK has continued to resist and maintain its independence to a certain degree. The Korean issue is one which is unlikely to be resolved in the near future. This is primarily due to the conflicting interests of the two major states of the Asia-Pacific region: China and the USA. Both these states have strategic interests in the Korean Peninsula issue, but neither of these states interests stress the reunification of the peninsula. Without the reunification of the peninsula, the question must be asked: what is a resolution to the Korean Peninsula issue? Within this essay I shall first explore the interests of the USA and China in relation to the issue. Then, I shall discuss the position of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. Throughout the essay I will explore non-traditional resolutions of the issue. Finally, I shall conclude by stating that the resolution of the issue is not …show more content…
Furthermore, I believe it would not be a strategically sound move for the US to initiate a reunification of the peninsula at this time, simply because of the strain it would place on the economy of South Korea, and the political credibility of the USA. I shall also draw attention to the human rights issue. Furthermore, as explained by Denny Roy, the US is constrained from freely achieving its goals as the DPRK ‘holds Seoul hostage.’ Considering these points I continue to put forward the idea that a resolution to the issue is more likely to come forth in the shape of a normalised North