남북정상회담과 6.15 공동선언: 분석과 평가

Abstract

The inter-Korean summit and the June 15th Joint Declaration were made possible by the right timing and positive reinforcement of three factors: in South Korea, the Kim Dae-jung government’s sunshine policy; in North Korea, the proactive attempts to improve foreign relations in order to overcome domestic instability and in America, the Clinton administration’s policy of engagement towards the North. In the June 15th Joint Declaration, the two Koreas agreed on the importance of resolving the issue of reunification through a Korea- centered approach (Article 1), in effect taking ownership of the problems relevant to the peninsula. Furthermore, rather than seeking rapid national integration, the two countries resolved to move towards reunification by going through a stage of mutual recognition and peaceful coexistence (Article 2). They also agreed to build a relationship of reconciliatory cooperation by resolving the issue of separated families and cooperating on multiple levels, starting with the economic sector. This in turn would make possible the advancement to the phase of reunification in effect, if not in name (Articles 3 and 4). Lastly, in order to guarantee the implementation of the joint declaration, the two nations agreed to ensure a channel of regular dialogue through meetings between the relevant parties (Article 5). As the first step in settling the longstanding enmity and confrontation between the two Koreas and moving towards reconciliation and coexistence, the June 15th Joint Declaration holds great significance in having created a substantive basis for inter-Korean peace, reconciliation, and cooperation. The declaration has a fundamentally different quality from past inter-Korean agreements and therefore possesses a significant structural and historic stability, in spite of the difficulties currently facing inter-Korean relations.