Response to the Northern Policy

Abstract

Some domestic critics of Roh Tae Woo’s foreign policy, many of them more liberal opposition party members, contend that the South Korean president initiated the Northern Policy not so much for the purpose of broader geopolitical goals or economic development but for assuring the ruling Democratic Justice Party’s support at home. Reunification is the ultimate goal of nearly every South Korean citizen. The government has been very nervous about potential public pressure, especially demonstrations by radicals, should it fail to show some concrete progress in dealing with North Korea. It was incumbent on Roh and his party to bring out a dramatic, constructive scheme which would rekindle hope and rebuild the popular base of support for the government party. In the opposition’s view, then, the Northern policy “is a multi-purpose wildcard that Roh hopes will strengthen his political poker hand.”¹ It is, from this perspective, a desperate act to salvage domestic political support for Roh and his Democratic Justice Party.