In less than five years, changes within the Soviet Union helped to alter the international climate to such an extent that many analysts compare it to the end of World War II. Nevertheless, the superpowers' new post-Cold War rhetoric, mentality, and behavior have not eased tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
The Korean War is still remembered not only by those who survived the hostilities and by the divided families but also by the governments of the North and the South, as well as by all of the nations around Korea. In Northeast Asia, the division of Korea became a constant source of tension. For the United States and the Soviet Union, it is probably one of the few potentially explosive problems they cannot effectively control by themselves. For the two Korean sides, it has always been grounds for political, military, and emotional confrontation. Mutual distrust, suspicion, and bitterness on both sides have risen to such levels that any comparison of the Korean and the German states simply does not work.
The conflict in Korea is damaging for the security, political, and long-term economic interests of the Soviet Union, both in the Asia-Pacific region and in relations with the United States. It still puts at risk the relations between all major powers of the Asia-Pacific region, including China, Japan, the United States, and the Soviet Union.
All four major states appear to be interested in lessening tensions with certain accommodations between North and South. Among them, the Soviet Union has occupied a rather unique position since 1988, when close diplomatic, economic, and political relations with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) were supplemented by the dynamic opening of nonofficial relations with Seoul. Naturally there is a growing interest in the Soviet Union's Korean policy, which perhaps is still being formulated.
Since last March, when the president of the newly formed Democratic Liberal Party, Kim Young Sam, visited Moscow, the most frequently asked question concerning South Korea was whether there would be future full-scale diplomatic relations between Moscow and Seoul. There is a certain divergency of opinion regarding this issue, both in the Soviet Union and outside. The final decision must be taken at the highest political level, where hopefully all available information will be analyzed and all possible advantages and complications will be carefully considered. In any case, there are other problems the Soviet Union now faces that are substantially larger and more complex than diplomatic recognition of the Republic of Korea (ROK).
The history and current dynamics of the conflict dictate to the superpowers an extremely cautious approach, which is clearly reflected in their respective policies toward North and South Korea. President Bush, for instance, told the ROK National Assembly of February 27 that the United States shares the goal of peaceful unification of the Korean Peninsula on terms acceptable to the Korean people.
Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, in his speech in Krasnoyarsk in September 1988, spoke about opening economic contacts with South Korea provided they are accompanied by improved relations between North and South. Though China is the largest trading and economic partner with Seoul among all the socialist countries, it is extremely hesitant to open political
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