한국과 헝가리의 외교관계 수립과 북한의 대응: 평양주재 헝가리 대사관의 비밀외교문서에 대한 분석을 중심으로

Abstract

The present article discusses the background to and process by which relations were established by South Korea and Hungary, and North Korea’s reaction and response to these events. 1) 2) 3) The establishment of diplomatic relations between South Korea and the states of Eastern Europe was one of the most remarkable events since the liberation of Korea and the establishment of the Republic of Korea, opening new possibilities in South Korean diplomacy. By establishing relations with Eastern European states, beginning with Hungary, and entering emerging onto the world diplomatic state as a member of the UN, South Korea’s position rose incomparably higher than that of the North, while the number of states that South Korea maintained diplomatic relations also greatly exceeded that of the North. South Korea’s relations with the world during the Cold War had, to that point, been unbalanced, focused on maintaining relationships with the United States and the West. Normalization with Eastern Europe pointed to a new stage in South Korean diplomatic history, one of ‘complete diplomacy’ encompassing both East and West. From North Korea’s point of view, such a turn of events must surely have come as a great shock. They interpreted the normalization as a direct challenge and threat to their own survival, and feared that they would become caught up in a domino effect of regime collapses. Thus, there numerous attempts made by the North Korean side to prevent Eastern Europe and South Korea normalizing relations, and these many provocative actions exacerbated existing tensions on the Korean peninsula. The present article focuses on the process that led to the normalization, the content of agreements reached, and the consequences. The article will focus on the North Korean response and reaction to the process, and seek to predict how North Korea will conduct diplomacy in the future. This research utilizes diplomatic documents, including original historical sources, analysis of documents and other sources produced by the governments of South Korea and Hungary at the time. The article begins with a discussion of the situation in South Korean and Hungarian relations post-normalization, then discusses the process by which normalization was achieved, North Korean responses and attempts to jeopardize the process, and how the South Korean and Hungarian governments responded to this.