Reconsidering the Korean National Community Unification Formula: A Constructivist Approach to North Korean Identities and Interests

Abstract: The Formula for Unification via a National Community which has been the official unification formula of South Korea has served as a framework for reunification policies of previous South Korean governments. The thesis focuses on the community-building approach of the South Korean formula and explains why a formula which prioritized economic-community has not served as an adequate formula for South Korean foreign policy. The thesis derives from the Three Communities Initiative of the Lee Myung Bak government and builds its argument on the necessity of forming a peace community before establishing economic relations. It aims to answer why a peace community should be prioritized by looking for the traces of “military first politics” in North Korean identities and interests which are analyzed through the constructivist perspective of Alexander Wendt. It was found that North Korean identities are largely affected by self-reliance (Juche) and military first politics (Songun) ideologies which lay the grounds for military interests motivating excessive militarization and nuclearization of Pyongyang. Whereas Pyongyang’s motivations are embedded in identities constituted by these two ideologies, it is difficult to imagine a North Korea which prioritizes economic cooperation over its self-help concerns, which could explain why NCUF needs to be amended.