It’s known to some as “the most dangerous border in the world.” It’s the 2.5-mile-wide stretch of no-man’s-land separating North Korea and South Korea. The Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) was created in July of 1953, following the contentious ending of the Korean war, which began in June of 1950. The war, resulting from a controversial splitting of the peninsula at the 38th parallel after World War II and an increasingly globalized Cold War, did not culminate in any official peace treaty. There was the signing of the armistice ceasefire agreement and the establishment of the DMZ, but no legitimate ending of the war. Without a treaty, North and South Korea are technically still engaged in conflict, causing tensions to flare up quite consistently between the two Southeast Asian countries. The constant clashes in the Korean Peninsula have long been studied by those working within the realist framework, who claim that increased militarization on both sides are the states’ way of augmenting power to ensure the security of their countries. Issues over the DMZ and the response to these issues by each country exhibit how the Korean Peninsula is truly the powder keg of Southeast Asia.
The DMZ, situated near the notorious 38th parallel, was designed to be an area that prohibited large troop concentrations and heavy military weaponry. In the center of the DMZ is the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) a political border that, if crossed by either side, would result in an intense exchange of fire1. Following the catastrophic three years of the Korean War, the two countries experienced a brief, relatively stable period of time, the DMZ providing a buffer between the quarrelling states. However, in October of 1966, troops from both countries invaded the DMZ, engaging in combat and igniting what would be a decades-long conflict between North and South Korea. Soon after the 1966 DMZ skirmishes, North Korea began a series of attacks against South Korea, in what can be seen by realists as the country’s attempt to ensure its safety and survival through increased military action2.On January 19, 1967, North Korean artillery units attacked the Dangpo, a South Korean vessel, killing 39 members of its crew3. In January of 1968, North Korea commandos coordinated an assassination attempt against South Korean president, Park Chung-hee. That attempt, as well as a second attempt in August of 1974, were both unsuccessful3. In the 1980s, North Korea carried out a series of bombings against the South, one in 1983 at a mausoleum in Myanmar during a visit by the South Korean president, and another in 1987, on Korean Air flight 858, killing all 115 people on board3. Several more clashes occurred over time, including the First and Second Battles of Yeonpyeong. These naval battles, in June of 1999 and June of 2002 respectively, exemplified the countries’ use of military force as a means of state security.3
North and South Korean relations have not improved in recent years. In March of 2010, a South Korean corvette, the ROKS Cheonan, was torpedoed by a North Korean submarine, killing 46 sailors3.In November of that same year, North Korea bombarded the South Korean island of Yeonpyeong, killing four people. As of August, 2015, the two countries have been blaring propaganda at each other over the DMZ using large loudspeakers. There has been an exchange of artillery fire and tensions are mounting yet again3. One of the most dangerous aspects of the conflict in the peninsula is North Korea’s increased nuclear weapons capabilities. Even though the country signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in 1985, it withdrew from the treaty in January of 2003, causing grave concern for the U.S, South Korea, and other states. As recent as September of 2016, North Korea now claims to have successfully conducted a hydrogen bomb test, developed miniature nuclear warheads for ballistic missiles, and detonated a nuclear warhead.
Analyzing the conflict in the Korean Peninsula through a realist lenses, it can be seen that both countries’ main priority is the safety and security of their state. For realists, a state’s first priority should always be state survival2. However, it is also claimed that without power, there cannot be a guarantee of survival for a country. North Korea’s aggression towards South Korea, along with their rapid militarization and acquisition of nuclear weapons technology, can be seen through the realist framework as the state’s attempt to use self-help as a way to ensure their survival. Looking at the situation through the self-help theory of realism, it appears that North Korea is less concerned with entrusting their safety and survival to an ally, and more concerned with becoming a key military power within the international system2.South Korea has taken a different approach to survival in the international system. Rather than go on the offense and focus on intense militarization, South Korea has relied upon alliance systems and forming a balance of power2. The United States and South Korea have formed a strong alliance, with South Korea using that balance of power as a method of defense against North Korea. Looking at the conflict in the Korean Peninsula with more of a structural realist view, it can be observed that North Korea is taking a more offensive realist approach, trying to maximize power as a means of security, and South Korea is taking a more defensive realist approach, maximizing security, rather than power to protect the state.
The issues in the Korean Peninsula are a result of an intense, problematic history and a war that never really ended. Using the realist approach, it can be seen that both countries’ first priority is the security of their nation. However, the methodologies they use to secure their states’ safety are quite different. North Korea is often seen as an aggressor who relies on militarization, heavy artillery, and nuclear weapons to obtain security for the country. South Korea, while also utilizing military power, is more concerned with defense and often relies on powerful allies within the international system to find security for the country.