南北朝鮮国連同時加盟をめぐるソ連の政策転換

Abstract

During the Cold War era, the Republic of Korea repeatedly submitted applications for membership to the United Nations, but these efforts were thwarted by the exercise of veto power by the Soviet Union. However, the administration of Roh Tae-woo, which came to power in 1988, adeptly recognized the changing international landscape and, through the implementation of Northern Diplomacy, established diplomatic relations with the USSR, making the issue of UN membership increasingly realistic. Therefore, this paper aims to examine the fruition of South Korea's Northern Diplomacy—specifically, the process of improving relations with the USSR—and how this led to the political and diplomatic process resulting in the simultaneous UN membership of both North and South Korea. Additionally, this paper seeks to elucidate the policy shift of the USSR in this simultaneous membership process. The study primarily utilizes newly released diplomatic documents from the Korean Diplomatic Archives to analyze the political process from the ideological resonance and initial contacts between South Korea and the USSR during the dissolution of the international Cold War, to the disagreements over the establishment of trade offices and consular functions, the San Francisco talks, and ultimately the establishment of diplomatic relations between South Korea and the USSR. This research highlights the originality in tracing the political process of South Korea's simultaneous UN membership and the USSR's policy shift (abandonment of veto power).