The EU foreign policy toward the North Korea: its effects and limitation

Abstract

Jang, Seong Jung EU has been engaged in North Korean affairs since it started humanitarian aid in 1990s. EU has developed institutional grounds for the diplomatic relation and it has implemented foreign policy towards North Korea in the context of Asia strategy. Its approach to North Korea is connected with Neo-liberal thinking. It stressed the international cooperation to resolve the nuclear problem, and utilized political dialogues and international institution to improve the poor human rights in North Korea. It also continued humanitarian aid irrespective of security problem, and offered economic cooperation programs for the economic development of North Korea. However, EU is not in the strong position to affect the security issue in the Korean peninsula due to various causes such as the geopolitical distance. Moreover, EU's economic cooperation programs are often frustrated by the political constraints. Rather, it puts the energy in keeping the position by playing a leading role in the improvement of human rights and continuing humanitarian aid. This policy trend will be continued in the near future. Though there are limited capacity, EU has strengths in part to contribute to the settlement of the North Korean issues with a few reasons. First, EU gains a favorable position to access to North...