Korean Stability and the U.S.-JAPAN-CHINA Relationship

As both a buffer state and an invasion route, Korea has always played a pivotal role in Asian stability. Its security hinged on the actions and reactions of its larger and more powerful neighbors. Long seen as “a dagger pointed at the heart” of other states, Koreans have traditionally labeled themselves “the shrimp that gets crushed between two whales.” With the reemergence of China as a regional hegemon, formal changes in the U.S.-Japan security relationship and the possible impact of these changes on Korea’s future policy choices, the future of both Koreas is tied to the growing role of a China accommodated by a declining Japan. Ultimately, it is this regional dynamic that provides the important context for all scenarios of reunification and their realistic prospects for success. The longevity of a peaceful, stable, prosperous East Asia is inseparable from a peaceful, stable, unified Korea.