Korean unification policies and regional alliances

This first document resulting from the project on «Korean Unification : historical outline of presumptions, perceptions and policies» is a synthesis of the international academic debate on national unification policies in South Korea and their relationship with the role played in the process by North Korea and regional (Russia, China and Japan) and extrarregional actors (United States) in 1988-2002. It includes a very partial processing of qualitative Information gathered by means of semi-formal interviews to Korean experts, which will be developed in a second document. As an overall hypothesis, it contends that strategic interests of Russia, China, Japan and the United States regarding the Korean peninsula point to the need of its stabilization, according to their own perceptions of security that do not imply supporting a Korean proccess of national unification but rather maintaining the status quo, which conflicts with South Korea's interests.