Based on interviews conducted in Seoul in July 2006, the author explores apparent contradictions in South Korean perceptions of the United States' attitude toward Korean unification. These common perceptions regarding international support (or lack thereof) for unification are: the regional powers - China, the US, Japan, and Russia - do not support the unification initiatives proposed by South Korea; reunification is impossible without support from the regional powers, particularly the US and China; North Korea, under the Kim dynasty, will never accept reunification under South Korean terms; North Korea's main concern is survival; cooperating with North Korea is the only sure path toward reunification; and unification will eventually be realized. The author analyzes these perceptions in relationship to US interests in Northeast Asia and the Korean peninsula, and he argues that while Korean unification is not part of an explicit US policy, neither is the US intrinsically opposed to reunification. Rather, the US is more concerned about the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and power balancing than it is about Korean unification, a fact that will not change in the short term.
Peter M. Lewis is an Academic Scholar at the Institute of International Studies at the University of Chile. He was the Executive Secretary of the Asia Pacific Center and Korean Studies Program for the University in 2006 and 2007. Lewis was an Associate Researcher on the 2006-2007 research project of "Korean Unification: Historical Outline of Presumptions, Perceptions and Policies." The project received financial support from the Academy of Korean Studies.
Lewis received the Rotary International Foundation's Ambassadorial Scholarship in 2004-2005. He earned his BA from Gordon College in the US and his MA in International Studies from the University of Chile.
[Originaly published: August 4th, 2008]
