South Korea is a key player in Asian region politics

South Korea is a key player in Asian region politics

South Korea is a key player in Asian region politics. In the last decade, South Korea has also emerged as a power to contend with internationally, especially due to its divergence in industrialism, which has significantly contributed to its economic growth xx. South Korea, despite its growth, does not have a complex diplomatic web. Rather, it has a simplistic diplomatic policy whereby it advocates for the responsibility of all governments across the world, toward promoting international order. One of the pertinent issues for South Korea has been the issue of North Korea and its nuclearization process. North Korea poses both direct and indirect threats to the former. In this regard, direct threats could entail North Korean defense apparatuses either attacking South Korea knowingly or accidentally. On the other hand, nations with nuclear capabilities often hold each other in deep suspicion, and they may plan discreet attacks on each other. Such attacks on North Korea could affect the people of South Korea and therefore turn problematic for South Korean administration to maintain national peace and stability. Various nations have criticized South Korea for its failure to regulate its neighbor, North Korea. However, the former has for numerous regimes engaged North Korea on issues of regional peace and stability through the policy, which is referred to as the sunshine policy. The sunshine policy is a South Korean policy that aims at prompting North Korea to soften its stance on South Korea. North Korea holds strategic essence for South Korea, especially given that North Korea is a key player in regional stability and offering a solution to the Korean peninsula standoff. South Korea believes that through engaging North Korea and her allies, the region will be more peaceful, business-viable and subsequently offer more opportunities to the two nations xx.

South Korea majorly has two factions in national politics. These factions are the proponents who promote how the nation conducts its international businesses and relations xx. There is the conservative faction and the progressive faction. South Korea does not depict uniform approaches to international issues and has been in the past indicated to support decisions that were predictably incongruent xx. Conservatism, in this case, refers to sticking to times of the times, and those which are associated with the nation. On the other hand, progressiveness refers to a nation’s collaboration with parties from without for the advancement of agenda, especially in the global and regional settings. Conservatism approaches to issues in South Korea often limit the nation to traditional values, and this is advocated in international issues. South Korea employs a combination of socialist and capitalist modes of action xxx. In this sense, South Korea, for instance, advocates for governments’ high moral standing, while on the other hand supporting capitalist economies, thus explaining why the economy has risen to a high-income nation. One of the key issues which affected South Korea was the issue of the Korean peninsula, where politics of conservatism and progressiveness dominated the political scene. Conservatists, believing that South Korea ought to be a sovereign state, ought to show independence in thought and in action, were against the involvement of the United States of America in the Korean peninsula affairs. The United States was specifically faulted due to its preference for coercive diplomacy in place of diplomacy and negotiations. On the other hand, the progressives felt the United States’ involvement in the Korean peninsula was necessary as it was for the best interest of South Korea and that it did not contravene the international principles aligned to the sovereignty of the nations xx.

Additionally, South Korea advocates for fairness in international relations and the subsequent equitability of all nations in global interactions. For instance, through the sunshine policy, the nation was able to command influence to include North Korea into the Olympics, despite being banned from the Olympic Games in the past xx. South Korea asks for the sovereignty of nations to be duly respected, and despite being the greatest victim of North Korea’s nuclearization, South Korea remains committed to establishing networks with other nations through equitable reciprocity. Focusing on the involvement of other states in the region, South Korea has by far been able to seek collaborations with other powers whereby some are rivals. South Korea, despite collaborating with the United States of America on military advancements, cooperates with China on economic progress. The two countries have been rivals for long. South Korea particularly relates to China in seeking connections with growing markets through the belt and road network, which is China’s initiative, thus indicating South Korea’s willingness to collaborate with other states.