Signal Thirty-five years of Northern Policy lifted Korea's standing and opened northern markets

Summary

The report reviews what Korea gained from the Northern Policy that began with diplomatic ties with the Soviet Union in 1990. By moving beyond Cold War camp confrontation to friendly relations with northern states, Korea overcame vetoes from former adversaries, widened its political support and even produced a UN Secretary-General. The policy also opened economic cooperation with China, Russia and former Soviet states that joined world markets after the 1990s, alongside existing markets in the democratic camp. That expansion is described as a turning point that helped Korea leap into the ranks of the world's ten largest economies and later a core G20 member. The authors cite this record of fusing diplomatic-security and economic-industrial policy as justification for sustaining and widening ties with northern partners today.