One Korea?

The case describes the evolution of relations between South and North Korea since the division of Korea and the Korean War, explores the background to the conflict over North Korea’s nuclear and missiles programmes in the 1990s, shows how inter-Korean relations have been shaped by the interests and interventions of the big powers present in the region (the US, the USSR/Russia, China and Japan) and facilitates an analysis of the likelihood of a new armed conflict on the Korean peninsula and Korean reunification.

To illustrate the extent to which the dynamics and outcomes of regional conflicts are shaped by the major international powers. To analyse the probability of a new war on the Korean peninsula and/or of Korean unification. To assess the longer-term economic, political and strategic implications of a unified Korea, should reunification occur.