The Politics of Korean Reunification

Abstract

If the end of the cold war is a palpable reality, its ripple effects have barely begun to reach the shores of the Korean peninsula. Notwithstanding the signing and entry into force of two potentially path-breaking agreements between the two Korean states, their bilateral relations remain as chilly as before. Although the signing of the ‘agreed framework’ between the US and North Korea in October 1994 and the subsequent moves towards its implementation raise the hope that inter-Korean relations may soon enter a new stage, the peninsula has yet to jettison the dubious distinction of being the last glacier in the post-cold war world.