Nordpolitik (

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

for "Northern Policy") was the signature foreign policy of

South Korean president The president of the Republic of Korea (), also known as the president of South Korea (often abbreviated to POTROK or POSK; ), is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of Korea. The president leads the State Council, and is ...

Roh Tae-woo Roh Tae-woo (; ; 4 December 1932 – 26 October 2021) was a South Korean politician and army general who served as the sixth president of South Korea from 1988 to 1993. Roh was a close ally and friend of Chun Doo-hwan, the predecessor leader ...

. The policy guided South Korean efforts to reach out to the traditional allies of

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...

, with the goal of normalized relations with the closest allies to North Korea,

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

and the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

. By adopting Nordpolitik, South Korea abolished the doctrine of

the enemy of my enemy is my friend "The enemy of my enemy is my friend" is an ancient proverb which suggests that two parties can or should work together against a common enemy. The exact meaning of the modern phrase was first expressed in the Latin phrase "Amicus meus, inimicus ...

and understood that the indirect approach was a more plausible way to engage with North Korea. The policy improved the South's economy while leaving the North more isolated and was a dramatic and historic turning point of South Korea’s diplomatic goals. The policy was named after the

West German West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

policy of

Ostpolitik ''Neue Ostpolitik'' (German for "new eastern policy"), or ''Ostpolitik'' for short, was the normalization of relations between the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG, or West Germany) and Eastern Europe, particularly the German Democratic Republ ...

("Eastern Policy") towards the then communist

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

, although the Ostpolitik was aimed directly at a normalization of the relationship between two German states. The successor of the Nordpolitik was the

Sunshine Policy The Sunshine Policy () is the theoretical basis for South Korea's foreign policy towards North Korea. Its official title is The Reconciliation and Cooperation Policy Towards the North (), and it is also known as The Operational Policy Towards the ...

, which bore more tangible similarities with the German Ostpolitik.

Overview

President Roh Tae-woo recruited Kim Chong-whi as his special assistant on foreign affairs for the implementation of the Nordpolitik policies. In July 1988, Roh gave the first high-profile public address on Nordpolitik, revealing a six-point program. Its goal was not only for a greater diversification of South Korea’s trading partners but also for ensuring peace and security on the

Korean peninsula Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

. This included promotion of trade, exchanges of visits at all levels, humanitarian contacts between the two Koreas and Seoul's discontinuation of opposing nonmilitary trade between North Korea and its allies. The

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1988 ( ko, 서울 1988, Seoul Cheon gubaek palsip-pal), was an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October ...

was not mentioned at this speech but it was later revealed that Nordpolitik was designed to smooth the way for the participation of

communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

countries at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul. While preparing for the Olympics, it was difficult for South Korea to deal with North Korea’s appeal for co-sponsorship at the games, and for South Korea later to dissolve the possible

boycott A boycott is an act of nonviolent, voluntary abstention from a product, person, organization, or country as an expression of protest. It is usually for moral, social, political, or environmental reasons. The purpose of a boycott is to inflict som ...

from the

socialist bloc The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc and the Soviet Bloc, was the group of socialist states of Central and Eastern Europe, East Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America under the influence of the Soviet Union that existed du ...

as proposed by Pyongyang. However, by adopting Nordpolitik policy, Chinese and Soviet teams participated and Seoul successfully hosted the 1988 Olympics. In 1990, Roh made a press conference immediately after the

fall of the Berlin Wall The fall of the Berlin Wall (german: Mauerfall) on 9 November 1989, during the Peaceful Revolution, was a pivotal event in world history which marked the destruction of the Berlin Wall and the figurative Iron Curtain and one of the series of eve ...

, addressing that the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

ice had begun to crack.Monthly Choson
/ref> Roh also repeated saying that the ultimate objective of the Nordpolitik policies was not to isolate North Korea but to induce the North to open up and to reduce military tensions.

References

External links

"Relations with the Soviet Union"
from "South Korea: A Country Study", a publication of the US Army.
"President Roh Tae-Woo during moments of Global Change"
from "Monthly Choson", a Korean publication. {{Foreign relations of South Korea North Korea–South Korea relations Foreign relations of South Korea Korea–Soviet Union relations China–South Korea relations

Overview

See also

References

Further reading

External links