Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

The Government of the People of the ROK and its North Korea Policy

The Government of the People of the ROK declares the driving purpose of its North Korea policy: to establish a triumvirate of peace, reconciliation, and cooperation for marked improvement of InterKorean relations. Priority at this moment must be given to peaceful coexistence of the ROK and the DPRK over attempts at hasty unification. Only when lasting peace is established on the peninsula can efforts be made for true reconciliation and cooperation.

Three Guiding Principles of North Korean Policy

The Government of the People of the ROK has established three main principles as guideline in implementation of the policy. First and foremost is zero tolerance for all acts of aggression detrimental to peace. The ROK will maintain tight military security to prevent any possibility of armed hostilities, and it will be clear to North Korea that all aggression will be countered with reciprocal measures. North Korea will thus forsake force as a main component of its southern policy, and in such a context, armed aggression will be next to impossible.

Second, the ROK has no intention to either destroy or absorb North Korea. The policy is aimed not at expediting North Korea's political implosion, but instead a creating a truly peaceful state of coexistence, and in turn, a solid foundation for InterKorean alliance and partnership.

Establishing peace will open the way for reconciliation and cooperation, the third and last of these guidelines. Cooperation will proceed wherever possible to reestablish the framework as stipulated in the South-North Basic Agreement, to replace mutual antagonism with understanding.

Implementation

A flexible attitude on our part will be vital to any real progress in InterKorean relations, and flexibility will be provided by a solid base of national security that combines our defensive preparations with a collective security regime in cooperation with other countries. Our stated goal is turn division and hostilities to peaceful coexistence that would exclude all possibility of war on the peninsula.

It is best to maintain our sanity and not to show hasty reaction to any provocation, threats, or show of unreasonable attitudes on the part of North Korea. The key is to increase the frequency of contact, dialogue, and cooperation so that North Korea would feel comfortable enough to initiate a process of change on its own. All cooperation between the two Koreas is geared to elicit proof that the South and the North, complementing each other for the formation of an economic bloc for co-prosperity and progress, is not an impossibility.

It is the government's firm conviction that solutions to all outstanding issues facing the two Koreas must come from Koreans themselves, and are possible only by convincing North Korea to participate in open InterKorean dialogue. In addition, all international concerns relevant to establishing peace and relief of tensions on the peninsula will be resolved through international dialogue such as the four-party talks.

But the government acknowledges public support as the critical element in consistent and effective execution of its present policy, and pledges that all decision-making processes will be open to public scrutiny.

Direction

Exchange of emissaries and other measures must be taken to increase the level of dialogue, and reach agreements and implement their terms in all possible areas. The next step would be for both countries to implement all terms as prescribed in the South-North Basic Agreement, and then move on to economic cooperation, which would be separate from politics. All activities would be centered around the principle of mutual benefit, in the best interest of both Koreas.

The question of separated families is the most pressing issue that must be resolved. A solution will be effected through all channels, be it NGO's like the Red Cross, through third countries, or by cooperation from the international community. Governmental support will be provided for formal exchange of separated families. In addition, humanitarian food aid will continue to be provided to the North until agricultural and economic cooperation between the two Koreas brings forth a resolution to North Korea's food crisis.

Work on the North Korean light water reactor project will be executed faithfully, according to the terms of the international agreement surrounding it. The government would also devise measures to minimize the burden on the taxpayer in funding the project. The terms of the South-North Basic Agreement will be brought into full effect through InterKorean dialogue, and all final solution to the relevant issues will involve no one but the two Koreas. But the ROK plans to seek cooperation from surrounding powers and the rest of the international community, as is vital to realizing peace on the Korean peninsula.

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