The summit meeting between two Koreas, held in 2002, was a dramatic one, dramatic enough to create a hope that the unification of Korea is not too far from reality. Following the meeting, there has been an active discussion on unification and integrat...
The summit meeting between two Koreas, held in 2002, was a dramatic one, dramatic enough to create a hope that the unification of Korea is not too far from reality. Following the meeting, there has been an active discussion on unification and integration of Korea.
It is, however, unfortunate that the issues regarding military integration, which will arguably determine the future of unification, has not been discussed as actively. The goal of this paper was to propose a plan of military integration and to examine the ways in which military integration affects the completion of unification.
For this, the definition and context of military integration were established. In addition, the case of Yemen and Germany, both of which were unified under circumstances similar to that of Korea, was examined. The case study of these two countries, in particular, has suggested that the discussion of military integration should be present during and following the unification. Keeping this fact in mind, the unification model of Korea was examined, from which the feasible type of military integration was drawn.
It was shown that the most ideal and appropriate model is a gradual military integration, based on which the plan of two Koreas' military integration was suggested.
The basic directions of military integration are as follows: first, the effect of military integration is to remain present before and after unification is achieved; second, military integration should be based on internal and external agreement; third, military integration should be part of unification policy.
Based on the above mentioned principles, the military integration is divided into three steps. The first step is to build confidence. The second step is to establish the military organization for integration and to execute the military reduction. Third step is to integrate the military forces. Because the first and second steps are similar to the arms control, however, they have not been dealt with thoroughly. The procedures for preparation for the third step and the detailed conducting scheme have been dealt with.
The plan of military integration proposed in this paper is merely a tip of an iceberg. The conditions and circumstances will continue to change, in which case it will be difficult to maintain the legitimacy of plan provided here. As all policies and theories do, it should change according to the conditions and time.