KJC Korea
Journal Central

Since the fourth nuclear test of North Korea, China has actively supported the sanction of the United Nations on North Korea. Considering China’s previous efforts to protect North Korea after the latter’s repeated military adventures on the Korean Peninsula, it raises the question why China changed its behavior from protection to sanction. This paper argues that North Korea’s asymmetric strategy played a critical role to bring about China’s different reactions towards North Korea. Unlike contemporary dominant alliance theories which emphasize the disadvantages of a smaller country in asymmetric bilateral alliance, this article contends that when international security environment changes and a political leader of a smaller country in the alliance system confronts domestic challenges, it is able to organize balance of asymmetry strategy against the strong counterpart of the alliance. Current conflicts and tensions between North Korea and China can be an appropriate example to apply balance of asymmetry strategy. Kim Jungeun faced insecurity in consolidating his position from the very beginning of his succession. The changing international security environment and domestic situations surrounding Kim Jungeun made it possible for him to perform balance of asymmetry strategy against a long-term blood-hood brother, China, in order to increase autonomy and assure his power.

As China is rapidly growing in the 21st century, the attention of people around the world is shifting to the China. In addition, the fact that the Chinese are seeking to modernize their military and produce a stronger military country is the factor that it greatly affects the balance of power in Northeast Asia and the security of the Republic of Korea (ROK). China has achieved remarkable economic growth due to reforms and open market policies beginning in 1978. Accumulated capital resulted from economic growth has been invested in the modernization of the Chinese military in order to accelerate high-tech strategic weapon systems for their army. So the degree of military threats from China seems to have increase drastically. These rapid changes in the Chinese military are the causes of interests and concerns of citizens of the world and accepted as one of the tangible facts to support the China threat theory. This paper analyzes the military aspects of the China threat theory based in realism and will focus the China threat theory to derive the military implications in the ROK. In order to establish this theory, firstly, does China have the military capability to threaten its neighboring countries? Secondly, if China has this ability, does China intend to use it against its neighboring countries? Thirdly, do neighboring countries recognize the overall capabilities and intentions of China as threatening factors? All the three questions must be answered “Yes.” It can be seen that the China threat theory is valid in the ROK as the three conditions presented by the findings of this study are all satisfied. Therefore, the ROK will have to find a way to make strategic response plans in preparation for the negative impacts of the China threat theory on Northeast Asian region.

United States Department of Defense announced the Asia-Pacific Maritime Security Strategy in 2015. This report outlines the Department of Defense’s strategy with regard to maritime security in the Asia-Pacific region. Recognizing the importance of the Asia-Pacific region and its maritime domain for the security of the United States, the Department is focused on safeguarding freedom of the seas, deterring conflict and coercion, and promoting adherence to international law and standards. This paper examines four lines of effort that the Department is employing in order to preserve security in this vital region. ① Strengthening military capacity to ensure the United States can successfully deter conflict and coercion. ② Working together with our allies and partners from Northeast Asia to the Indian Ocean to build their capacity to address potential challenges in their waters and across the region ③ Leveraging military diplomacy to build greater transparency and to reduce the risk of conflict ④ Working to strengthen regional security institutions and to encourage the development of an open and effective regional security architecture. Through these contents, this paper presents effects(① Conflict ② Cooperation) of the Asia-Pacific Maritime Security Strategy. The effects are as follows: ① Conflict(Escalating the conflicts between U.S. and China, Developing the Missile technology in China) ② Cooperation(Decreasing the possibility of an armed conflict between the U.S and China, Consolidation of the U.S.-Southeast Asian countries relations.)

In history, the Korean peninsula has been an advanced base of Japan to pursue local hegemony through force and realize an ambition to achieve Mutual Prosperity in East Asia. After World War II, Japan has had a final goal of recovering the position and status of a normal country and furthermore, raising its status to one of the top countries in Asia. In the process of realizing such a national strategy, its colonial rule in the past has become a setback which can not be overcome. In 1965 when the Cold War was at its peak period, under the active intervention of the U.S.A, South Korea and Japan normalized diplomatic relations. Therefore, a better relationship with North Korea has become an important task for Japan's diplomacy before and after the war. Japan's politicians said that Japan does not have any strategies. However, to look at the policies against North Korea which have been developed for about 20 years after the Cold War, it can be understood how clever Japanese strategies against other countries are. First of all, through normalization of diplomatic relations with North Korea, it recovered the status and position of a normal country. Then, under the pretext of the security threat of North Korea, it realized “Military Power” and furthermore it joined in six-party talks to intervene in the multilateral security talks and were prepared for a great military power. As well, Japan's policy against North Korea has adhered to nuclear technology ,missiles, and kidnapping out of the fundamental problems of reflection, apology and compensation. In addition, as Japan has had worse relations with China and South Korea, and is isolated diplomatically, it attempted to escape from this crisis through mitigation of relations with North Korea, and for security law and constitution revision, it mentioned the North Korean Threat Issue to reinforce restraint. After the 4th North Korea Nuclear Test, relations between North Korea and Japan faced the worst crisis. North Korea dismantled a special investigation committee into Japanese kidnappings and Japan has implemented more independent and resolute restraints as well as restraints in the U.N. Security Council. To the Abe administration which has actively executed Constitutional reform, it is suggested that the severe threat of North Korea and aggravated relations between the two countries would be a more desirable strategy.

Kim Jong-un’s Regime, North Koreans, Reign of Terror, Political Changes.

Today, globalization leads to make all over the world to one huge market. The competition market widely expands from domestic market to including foreign market. Company makes an effort to have good performance to survive in the turbulence environment. Organization culture is one of the most important elements for firm’s performance. And knowledge management helps make use of knowledge which stem from organization culture to solve problems or to make core competencies of company. The purposes of this study are 1) to understand relationship between organization culture and performance, 2) to find out knowledge management play a role as a mediator, and 3) to draw academic and practical implications from the result of analysis of this study. The result of analysis of this study shows that organization culture has positive influence on performance. And knowledge management has partially mediating effect relationship between organization culture and performance. Therefore, company should reinforce organization culture and knowledge management to survive in the market, and to have sustainable growth.

The Arctic Region is a region where important values, risks, opportunities, and international cooperation coexist, so it must be approached with utmost emphasis on development and protection. The five coastal countries’ claim of dominion over the North Pole region is the subject of an international legal dispute, as there is currently no actual occupancy or practical governance over the region. These countries lead in the development of the Northern Sea Route (NSR) and resources, but a national border treaty has yet to be concluded. Currently in the Arctic Region the sovereignty of individual countries over the waters is not recognized by the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, and 200 nautical miles of economic zone is applied to these coastal countries. Defrosting of the Arctic Region has been accelerating due to global warming, which has led Korea to acknowledge the importance of the pole and prompted it to initiate various activities. In future mid-to-long term projects, Korea will have to expand its participation and role in the strategic sense concerning the expansion of territorial space, resource development, native and environment protection, and significant financial support for the active use and commercialization of the NSR as a permanent observer of the Arctic Council (AC) since May 2013. A responsive plan must systematically be established to enhance international cooperation concerning the construction of global governance, and the relativity of the coastal countries of the Arctic Region must be considered, particularly with cooperation with Russia. In this context, this article is to analyze the geopolitical and spatial properties of the Arctic region and the restrictions on developing Arctic resources, and consider the problems and means of commercializing the Arctic Ocean route and the role of Korea in the AC. Based on which, counter plan tasks required for a mid-to-long term initiation of an efficient Arctic Policy by Korea will be proposed.

This paper explores the extent, the causes and the repercussions of youth unemployment in Europe and also South Korea. Youth unemployment is one of the most pressing economic and social problems confronting the EU countries, whose labour markets and economies have been significantly weakened since the onset of the global financial crisis. Southern Europe in particular, but also other regions, has been severely affected by very high youth unemployment rates inducing enormous economic and social costs. Since the Asian economic crisis and the subsequent IMF bailout package, young South Koreans have been confronted with a range of labour market changes that have steadily increased youth unemployment. Commonly first to be fired and last to be hired, young Europeans as well as their South Korean counterparts have become marginalized in the job market and disorientation has created a ‘lost generation’ in Europe and a ‘give-up generation’ in South Korea. Secondly, the paper aims to analyse the political measures taken by European institutions, European states and in South Korea to tackle the youth unemployment crisis. European-wide and EU Commission policies of labour market regulations reveals that although some useful youth-related projects have been introduced in the past decades, many current policies aimed at reducing regional and national unemployment have insufficiently recognised the need for policies entirely devoted to youth unemployment. Instead ‘flexicurity’ has become the focus at the expense of issues such as quality of work, job security and social security. South Korean political responses to the youth unemployment crisis under the ‘Bridge Plan 2020’ have focused on the wage peak system, increasing job training, reducing work hours as well as improving employment relationships. Critics demonstrate an overall lack of welfare policies for the unemployed youth and a weak willingness of large companies to increase their youth employment ratio. All countries in this paper need to enhance their efforts to target the youth in their political decisions.