The Korean Peninsula: North Korea – South Korea

When geopolitics becomes a slave to ideology

The 20th century marked the course of the following generations; it exemplified, with the dramatic experience of war, the steps that should be followed and those that should not be followed in order to achieve a global balance that translates into lasting peace, to which human beings seem to resist. Human beings have had to experience numerous conflicts, and many are those who trusted that progress would bring peace to the global panorama, nothing could be further from reality. With countless clashes between countries, cultures and economic systems, the last century was so unpredictable and competitive that it continues to have consequences today, and this is where there is one of the interstate clashes that continue to be protagonists today.

They are none other than North Korea y South Korea, two of the main actors in one of the first conflicts that marked the beginning of the so-called Cold War, clearly delimiting the two sides that were at stake for the dominance of a new world born of the Second World War. Behind the occupation by Japan in 1910 of the Korean Peninsula, as a main consequence of its economic expansion, Korean nationalism increased in an unprecedented way following the brutalities of the Japanese in the region[1]. With the rise of Korean nationalism and a detrimental colonial power in the 40s, the situation acquired a more complex character, which had direct effects on the future of the Peninsula.

But it was in the middle of the war when the allies considered what the future of the Korean peninsula should be, because the Japanese country was already showing signs of weakness and the situation was unsustainable. In this context, in the 1943 Cairo Conference The pacts were established that affirmed that the Koreans should be independent, something that the Yalta or Potsdam conferences will confirm, to free Korea from the Japanese yoke.

United States – Japan relations

But things did not follow the established course. Fear and the conflicting interests of some ideologically separated allies in an abysmal way they fragmented the korean independence in two parts. Among the victors of the war there was doubt as to whether helping Korean independence would enhance the presence of one power or another, so the situation led to a delimitation of occupation zones distinguished from each other. Thus things and with the Parallel 38 as dividing axis of both parts, in the In 1948 the Republic of Korea was declared (in the south of the peninsula), lowland territory american occupation. And, in that same year, the ruler of the northern part of the peninsula, Kim Il-sung, would proclaim the People's Republic of Korea, which was recognized by the USSR as the only legitimate government of the Korean Peninsula.

As if it were a game of puppeteers, The US and the USSR wove their influences through the governments of both States, expressing his vision in the establishment of like-minded governments that obeyed the interests of both powers. After the division at the 38th parallel since the end of the great war, the first obstacle arises, where the South and the North distance themselves, both choosing their sides. In such a turbulent world and with such radical changes in not very long periods of time, it would not be strange to say that Ideology is an essential pillar in the development of cultures and, ultimately, of entire countries, thus drawing the framework of the korean conflict. On the one hand, a country born with democratic, anti-communist and pro-American values ​​gave rise to South Korea, and, on the other side of the coin, a country with deep communist roots, with anti-American values ​​and with a marked elitist family-based political class, North Korea is born.

Curiously, this conflict is one of the few that is still technically active since the Cold War period, since, formally, A peace treaty has never been signed between the two., although a armistice in the years 1953. Now, the beginning of this confrontation is found in the year 1959 , when North Korean forces invaded part of South Korea, crossing the border, until reaching the capital, Seoul. Under the pretext of a previous South Korean attack on the border, never proven since years later it would be known that the military movement had been prepared for months, the North Korean government was sponsored by the support of ideologically related countries to kill two birds of one shot On the one hand, North Korea seized promised territories and, on the other, counteracted the influence of the capitalist ideology of the south.

This is how the confrontation began, with subsequent actions by the US army, led by the famous General McArthur, taking his troops even beyond the established border. Situation that will be reversed and each part will return to its corresponding being. There are numerous situations in which both actors faced and face each other. The high point was the explosion of a bomb by North Korean intelligence services on a South Korean plane in 1987.[2] and the intentional explosion by the North Koreans of the relations office with South Korea scheduled by North Korea.

See: Korean War – Summary, Causes and Consequences (History Professor, 2018)

However, this conflict has not been removed from the sight of the great international powers. Once again, the US, Japan, China and Russia are actors that perfectly exemplify that the passage of years does not take its toll on interests, whether geopolitical or economic. To understand the role of these actors, it is necessary to review the main lines of action that are managed at these levels discussed above. As usual, it is easy to distinguish the two sides and their components, where they are located The US and Japan on the side of South Korea and China and Russia favorable to North Korea.

Both parties confront each other due to essential interests, which can be summarized in three fundamental axes: North Korea's nuclear potential, the predominant struggle of ideologies y the increase of influence in the Asia-Pacific area due to the geographical location of the Korean Peninsula.

The relations between the first bloc (USA-Japan-South Korea) are born from a expansionist and dominant logic of the North American country, which from the first moment helps the development of the South through economic and military support, in addition to advising and delimiting the lines to be followed by the South Korean government. All this with the objective of strengthen its geopolitical position in the area. This objective has been hampered due to the rise of the influence of China and Russia (reviving with the election of current President Vladimir Putin), doubling their efforts to counter and dilute the North American vision.

One of the essential points of these rivalries lies in the development of North Korean nuclear capacity. With a multitude of interests in the midst of this nuclear project, Japan is directly threatened because of North Korea's nuclear reach, due to its proximity and, on the other hand, the United States is not going to allow a country so hostile, both ideologically and militarily, to reach its full potential. This is how American, Japanese and South Korean interests align, preventing such nuclear projection from developing while stagnating economically[3].

View: The Korean conflict (Ministry of Defense, 2013)

Since in 1993 arise the first nuclear crisis between the US and North Korea, under the mandates of Bill Clinton and Kim Il Sung, sanctions with the aim of undermining the economic and moral capacity of North Korean society have not ceased, putting the North Korean population in an increasingly difficult and unsustainable situation at different levels. . Although the North Korean nuclear program was born at the end of the 1950s thanks to Soviet support, it was not until this last decade that it reached its greatest growth, and with it the maximum peaks of tension, with numerous summits between Washington and Pyongyang.

Almost surprisingly, Recent years have been characterized by stratospheric development in the field of cyberspace, a place where battles are fought today like never before. Although technology is not one of the North Korean country's strong points, it is playing a leading role in the calls cyberspace wars against the US, since it is the leading attacker on US servers[4]. Being accused, even, of launching the Wannacry malware, which affected thousands of devices around the world to steal information. 

Therefore, North Korea has become a major threat in this regard, as it is making extensive use of its computing resources, with the support from China and Russia, undoubtedly, to fully exploit its capacity and that, in addition, allows it to do great damage without incurring great expenses. A clear advantage for this country, which is making it easier for it to have a greater position of strength. An example of this is the news revealed by a report from the UN Security Council, which states that, North Korean hackers have taken more than $670 million in cryptocurrencies and other foreign currencies. Therefore, expanding its “army” of hackers is being a priority for the North Korean regime, challenging, once again, American power, but in a more unknown field with great potential.

The block formed by China, Russia and North Korea It has its ties since its formation, with the historical precedent defined above, and they have continued to be established and developed over the years. The essence of this support for the North Korean regime, beyond their shared interests, is found in the economic, commercial and military escape route that Russia and China represent. Given the imposing North American pressure at these levels, These countries serve to avoid sanctions and be able to continue North Korean military and nuclear development., something that continues to set the geopolitical panorama of the area on fire. On countless occasions they have been seized Chinese or Russian oil supplies towards North Korea while sanctions prohibited it (even the United Nations has imposed economic sanctions[5]), fueling the misgivings of both parties and magnifying the geopolitical sieve.

View: North Korea violates sanctions and illegally imports oil (DW, 2020) and The UN imposes new sanctions on North Korea that will affect gasoline imports to the country by 90% (BBC, 2017)

Therefore, in a descriptive way and understanding the geopolitical conflict in broad strokes, Military, economic and commercial interests have been in conflict since the end of World War II., forming one of the most enduring conflicts of modern times. A scenario that is not expected to change disruptively in the coming years. The rounds of negotiations, the diplomatic approaches, the lifting of some sanctions, among other situations, have not advanced much the essential terms of the conflict, which, from a deeper point of view, encompasses much more than geopolitics. The extension to which we want to refer and that is vital to try to find out the drift of the conflict is none other than the ideology that it entails; as well as the consequences it has for the North Korean population, which may ultimately be the key to opening the door to a solution.

The lessons learned through the “diplomacy” of the parties involved have shown that, without the timely and necessary willpower, much more than certain steps are needed to be able to resolve this type of conflict. Ideological selfishness and the North's perpetual way of governing have prevented the situation from completely improving over the years, although there have been some numerous hopeful gestures like the one that happened Last April 28 when they crossed the border hand in hand. This is where the true face of this arduous conflict is seen, in an abysmal difference in development at a multitude of levels between the parties, placing South Korea far above economic, social and political indicators, and having as its main counterpart a North Korean population incapable of progressing and living in full living conditions.

View: Another crisis in Korea? The role of the South in resolving the conflict (New Society, 2018)

The North Korean population has suffered, is suffering and will continue to suffer, if no remedy is provided, the consequences of an economic and social structure that are typical of the last century. With numerous features of the communist system such as central planning, limits on production and an underdeveloped primary sector -among others-, Changes and innovation are not characteristics of the North Korean economic system, having its main effects on the population. I wish the problems were only in the economy, but that is not the case. The country lives in a situation of isolation of such magnitude that it has repercussions in the technological, industrial, commercial and political spheres. It is a country of high contrasts, while the majority of the population does not have access to the Internet, the North Korean country is making a name for itself among the countries with the greatest potential in the field of cyberspace to carry out computer attacks on other countries.

It is estimated that of the around 25 million that the North Korean country has, only 3 million have access to a mobile phone. Furthermore, its Internet network is internal and is dominated and surrounded by the North Korean government. Barely 1% of the population can search for something on the Internet called Kwangmyong, which only allows access to certain pages, since the rest are censored. Within that 1% are, for the most part, political leaders, their families, students at elite universities and those serving the North Korean government in the cyber field.

It is no secret that an economic and social system that is not very open barely has resources for its population, but adding to this situation is that, given the conflictive international position, North Korea dedicates a large part of its GDP to military investment, with an army of around 1.200.000 people. compared to 630.000 in South Korea. This is essential when overwhelming data such as poverty or malnutrition rates are given.[6], which show that, a 43,4% of the North Korean population suffers from malnutrition. Regarding poverty, in the year 2016 It was estimated that a 28.6% of the population lives daily at this threshold. This level of poverty and malnutrition has its explanation in several intertwined parts. On the one hand, the low GDP per capita available to families, which is located in 604$ -compared to more than 22.000 South Korean families-.

On the other hand, with a primary sector which covers more than 23% of the economy and other state services that barely generate added value, North Korean society does not have enough options to increase its income and improve its situation. Also North Korea is ranked 174th (out of 176 nations analyzed by Transparency International) as the most corrupt country., which derives from the poor management of resources and the distribution of the country's wealth. An example of this is the high number of mineral deposits that North Korean soil may have that cannot be exploited, because the North Korean government is not capable of properly managing its mines and does not allow other non-governmental companies to act, private mining is illegal.

They lose billions of profits due to poor management of their resources, the previous example of minerals places an operating profit that can range from 6 to 10 billion.[7], something that has a direct impact on society, its income and its way of consumption. The lack of infrastructure for the exploitation of minerals is nothing more than another example of the poor situation of the North Korean population., which does not have the necessary infrastructure for affordable deployment of essential services. For example, 97% of North Korean roads are unpaved[8], while in South Korea 8% are unpaved. A fact that exemplifies the transportation and supply difficulties of many North Korean regions. Thus there are many more examples, from North Korean transportation network compared to one of the most advanced metro networks like that of South Korea, or the abysmal difference in exports (952 million compared to 63.800 in South Korea), which demonstrate how the population cannot develop and live correctly on a daily basis.

Such is the situation that there are even several prices for the same product; That is, the inaccessibility of certain products due to low income has led to the creation of a double price system, one state and the other submerged, in which people negotiate the price outside the public sector. The prices even affect the amount that must be paid to be able to defect from the North Korean country. Yes, desert, since it is considered that if you leave the country you are betraying the regime and the government. Such is the situation that the “prices” for deserting (paying someone to offer you an escape route) have risen disproportionately, going from paying 45 dollars in 2000 to 12.000 today for the same thing. This way I could cover many more pages describing the situation. of the rights of North Koreans, forced labor, executions, unjustified detentions, etc. but the map of the situation is sufficiently exemplified for the purpose of this article, show how geopolitics can directly affect the population in a negative way.

Concluding, This conflict exemplifies how geopolitics can be a slave to ideological selfishness. Those responsible for all of the above do not suffer the consequences, since they enjoy countless resources to live a reality that is far from that of their population. The abysmal difference between the two Koreas, in the words of Acemoglu and Robinson[9], lies in the character of its institutions. While The South finds an open, competitive and democratic institutional fabric, the other extreme only makes use of a closed, monopolistic and authoritarian institutional system..

This inequality is the basis of the development of some and the poverty of others, because while in the North there are situations of vicious circles (derived from exclusive institutions), in the South they enjoy virtuous circles (a situation opposite to the previous one) that favor better growth and wealth. And these institutions are a direct consequence of the geopolitical struggle, so it is logical to think that, as long as this confrontation continues, political, social and economic changes will not reach North Korea, which will continue to feed on the existing ideological struggle and its defenders, while the part that suffers the most does so in silence and without any voice, this being the sad reality of an endless conflict.

6 graphs that explain the economy of North Korea (El Financiero, 2017)

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[1] The Japanese appropriated the lands by unorthodox means for economic exploitation, taking advantage of the Korean labor force to work the lands, so the Koreans suffered forced labor on their lands or were sent to Japan for the same purpose, as if it were slaves. Furthermore, there are many testimonies of Korean women and girls who suffered sexual abuse by Japanese troops, something that fueled the hatred of Koreans towards the Japanese country and was key to understanding why the Korean population supported both the US and the USSR in the war.

[2] Where a total of 115 people died.

[3] It is not possible to develop here the extensive and high-profile economic sanctions that have been imposed from the US, most notable since 2016, with Donald Trump at the helm. Although, the effort to accelerate cooperation between the parties is also notable. So much so, that the American president has even been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2016.

[4] This was the case of the attack on the Sony company, which was attacked in 2014, in which millions of user data, financial records, etc. were leaked. The cause of the attack is said to be that it is the producer of the film 'The Interview', which takes place in North Korea and aims to assassinate the North Korean leader within the framework of the comedy.

[5] In 2017, an example of these sanctions was a hit to North Korean fuel imports by 90%, demonstrating the harsh nature of these sanctions.

[6] These are approximate data, since the North Korean regime does not provide figures, but many non-governmental organizations dedicated to cooperation and development make their estimates based on reports from other countries.

[7] It is estimated that they have more than 200 types of minerals, of which iron, zinc, gold, among others, stand out.

[8] According to data from the Economic Complexity Observatory (OEC). Explain how North Korea only has a total of 25.000 km paved.

[9] En of the book Why Countries Fail They explain how a region that shares numerous characteristics has a different development based on its institutions and the progress attached to them. Where they have a single chapter to cover the differences between the countries of the Korean Peninsula, with several examples and situations that demonstrate the differences, from the degree of street lighting to poverty in both countries.

To learn more:

Henry Kissinger – Diplomacy

D. Acemoglu and Robinson – Why countries fail.