A blueprint for U.S. Policy toward a Unified Korea

The “Dominos” that Need to Fall into Place for a Reunification of Korea: Making Sense of a United Korea

“…Improvement to North Korea's standard of living is dependent upon attracting foreign investment from China, Russi,a and other major trading partners (Kerr 2005). Open trade relations could also indirectly improve having a very positive impact on the average citizen's standard-of-living (Mitchell 2002;Shambaugh 2003).…”

“…However, based on an analysis of some of the information previously discussed, certain facts seem to stand out: (1) Even though political ideologies may differ, North Korea and South Korea share essentially the same cultural values and beliefs (Mitchell 2002); (2) China, South Korea, and certain other friendly nations have already successfully entered the North Korean market and engaged in considerable trade (Shambaugh 2003); and (3) under the present system, North Korean trade environment would appear unfavorable, even to the most intrepid globalization advocate. Nonetheless, trade between even the most seemingly unfriendly nations is still possible; as the trade graph shows, North and South Korea are reasonably civil trading partners (Rosecrance 2006).…”

“…However, as many American companies have already discovered, working with the established cultural and government barriers in place in many Asian economies is no small task (Worden 2008). North Korea presents an especially difficult case to consider, since, for all practical purposes, the nation remains and will more than likely remain closed to the Western World for a number of years after the projected unification (Hwang 2010;Mitchell 2002;Shambaugh 2003).…”

“…In order to enter a unified Korean market with any chance of success, it has been suggested that interested American firms start early by establishing stronger bases in China and South Korea in order to catch the opportunities before it unification occurs (Mitchell 2002;Stares and Wit 2009). This may be a very difficult strategy to implement given the present unstable economic conditions in the United States as well as the rest of the world.…”

Security of Japan and Korean Unification

“…The history will continue to inform their future strategic perspectives. 8 Throughout its history, Japan has always been interested in and concerned about the Korean Peninsula, politically, economically, and culturally.…”