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This article examines North Korea's aggressive nuclear and missile development efforts and Seoul's response. By applying medium power theory, which is characteristically different from the widely (mis)used concept of "middle power," I explain South Korea's foreign policy behaviors, focusing on its policy toward missile development. South Korea abstained from developing long-range missiles to counter the North Korean missile threat until 2001. I interpret both South Korea's long abstinence and its subsequent efforts to upgrade its missile capability as strategies dictated by South Korea's dual identity: it is a medium power in a global sense and yet a small state within the context of its regional security situation. This aspect is critical to understanding Seoul's security policy and the future of the ROK-U.S. Alliance.
Key Words: Medium Power, ROK-U.S. Alliance, South Korea's Security Policy, North Korea's Missile Development, South Korea's Missile Development
I. Introduction
In mid October 2008, the U.S. government removed North Korea from a state-sponsored terrorism list after weeks of tense wrangling over Pyongyang's denuclearization process, including exchanges of harsh rhetoric against each other and a reported missile test by North Korea. This was only the latest instance of North Korea's use of nuclear and missile development as leverage in regional disputes. In July 2006, frustrated with the stalemate over implementation of the Six-Party Agreement, Pyongyang test-launched several ballistic missiles; three months later they tested a nuclear device. North Korea's brinkmanship has repeatedly pushed its neighbors to the edge and forced them to adopt various responses. Besides making coordinated diplomatic efforts with involved parties, which is not always easy (Yu, 2008), Seoul resolved to develop its own missile capability to counter the threat from the North, despite frequent opposition to this approach from its main aUy, the United States. Thus, Pyongyang's provocative policy has constantly tested Seoul's nerve and the validity and effectiveness of the ROK-U.S. Alliance. In other words, North Korea's aggression in nuclear and missile areas has tremendously affected South Korea's security policy response and the overaU nature of the ROK-U.S. Alliance for decades.
South Korea's current policy of deterrence through development of its own missile capability is a relatively new response to the North's threat. For many years, until quite recently, Seoul's policy towards North Korea's provocation was limited....