By Ahn Ho-young
TVP wanted to have an interview with me. It also invited me to attend a seminar it was organizing in Warsaw some time in December. As for the seminar, it overlapped with another seminar I am planning to attend in the U.S. Thus, I had to excuse myself for the seminar. But, I readily accepted the offer for the live interview, which was held late in October. Since the interview made me think a lot about Korea's relations with Poland and where Korea stands today in the international community, I want to share some of the points raised through it.
The first question from the anchor was what I thought about the meaning of the important arms deal recently concluded between Korea and Poland. Arms dealing, in my mind, is different from other trade deals in the sense that it ideally should be made between countries sharing the same values and strategic interests. Thus, I wanted Polish people to understand that Korea is precisely such a partner for Poland.
So, I responded by sharing with the anchor the anecdote of Poland and Korea joining the OECD back to back in the fall of 1996. At the time of Polish accession several months prior to Korea's own, I attended a press conference given by the Polish foreign minister. He expressed satisfaction about joining the OECD on that day. At the same time, he emphasized that Poland was also preparing to join the EU and NATO.
The foreign minister's statement, I explained to the anchor, was meant to declare to the world that Poland, a former member of the Warsaw Pact, was now joining friends sharing a different set of values, including a liberal democracy, a market economy, human rights and the rule of law. I also explained to the anchor that Korea was such a friend and that the meaning of the arms deal is that Poland is getting its arms from the right kind of friend.
The anchor then expressed admiration for the high level of technology achieved by Korea and took note of President Yoon Suk-yeol's participation at the Madrid NATO summit, which was unprecedented. He asked me if I expect to see Korea going into more arms deals with other NATO member countries as well.
I thought it was a good opportunity for me to share with the Polish citizens how Korea came to have the top-level defense industry it has today. I explained to the anchor that Korea's defense industry was started in 1973 in the form of the "Plan to modernize the Korean Army." It was called for because Korea was faced with a dire security dilemma at the time.
On the one hand, the level of threat emanating from North Korea was as high as ever. On the other hand, President Richard Nixon, who was elected as president with the pledge to take the U.S. out of Vietnam, came to Guam to declare his "Nixon Doctrine," according to which the U.S. announced its intention to devolve the security responsibilities for Asia to Asian allies. Korea's defense industry thus started out of necessity, and in 50 years it reached the level it maintains today.
As for the question of whether I expect to see more arms deals with other NATO member countries, I simply answered that I believe in stronger cooperation among allies who share the same values, and was encouraged to see President Yoon attending the NATO summit.
The anchor's last question was about Korea's policy toward China. I explained to the anchor that China is an important economic partner for Korea. The country can also play an important role in improving security challenges on the Korean Peninsula. They are the reasons why Korea thinks it important to maintain close relations with the country.
At the same time, Korea's foreign and security policy must be based on the security alliance with the U.S. It is not going to change, given the volatile security environment on and around the Korean Peninsula. It is also the right policy, because Korea as a nation is based on the liberal values of democracy, human rights and the rule of law. Thus, Korea's efforts to maintain close relations with China have to be balanced with the paramount importance of the alliance with the U.S.
Throughout the interview there was a question lingering in my mind: "Why did Poland turn to Korea for the major arms deal?" More recently, Poland is turning to Korea for the construction of nuclear reactors as well. I don't think it is because of Korea's technology and price conditions alone. For such projects as arms deals and the construction of nuclear reactors, there are other factors affecting the decision.
I thought it is because Poland feels comfortable with Korea. Poland in fact was one of the first former communist countries with which Korea entered into diplomatic relations during the early years of the post-Cold War. For the 30 years since then, there must have been good reasons for the leaders and the people of Poland to feel comfortable with Korea. I will call it the "soft power" of Korea. Korea must appreciate it and keep developing it.
Ahn Ho-young (hyahn78@mofa.or.kr) is chair professor of North Korean studies, Kyungnam University.