Policing Northeast Asia: The Politics of Security in Russia and Korea

333 Pages·2020·4.138 MB·English

by  Se Hyun Ahn

Policing Northeast Asia
The Politics of Security
in Russia and Korea
Se Hyun Ahn
Policing Northeast Asia
“Compelling framework for understanding NE Asia security… Brand-new
perspectivesontheshiftingSouthKorean-Russianrelationship….ProfessorAhn’s
pathbreaking study is well-timed, coming as it does on the eve of the 30th
anniversaryoftheestablishmentofSouthKorean-Russianrelations.Ahn’sunique
focusontherealitiesoftheneweconomicsecurityrelationship,—energysecurity,
transportation, rail, etc—is a welcome change from traditional formulations of
hard security. Must reading for scholars of NE Asia.”
—Roy D. Kamphausen, President, The National Bureau of Asian Research
(USA)
“Professor Ahn’s book could not have been published at a more appropriate
time,onthethirddecadeofnormalizedrelationsbetweentheRepublicofKorea
and Russia. This is an important study of an understudied relationship in East
Asiathathassignificantimplicationsforthesecurity,energy,andeconomyofthe
region.Ahn’sbookshouldbereadbyallseriousscholarsofEastAsiansecurity.”
—Victor Cha, Vice Dean and D. S. Song-KF Professor of Government,
Georgetown University and Senior Adviser at the Center for Strategic and
International Studies in Washington, D.C.
“SeHyunAhnemploysdetailedempiricalresearchoffiveinterestingcasestudies
to explain why Russian-South Korean economic relations have failed to fulfil
initial expectations, His analysis will be indispensable reading for students of
RussianorSouthKoreanforeignpolicyandscholarsinterestedintheproblemof
economic security.”
—Margot Light, Emeritus Professor of International Relations, London School of
Economics
“Inthiswide-ranginganalysisofRussia’srelationshipwithSouthKorea,Ahnasks
why Moscow and Seoul have been unable to develop the close ties both sides
sought after 1992. He highlights the ongoing bilateral and multilateral obstacles
to a more robust rapprochement, including a nuclear North Korea, whose long
shadow continues to loom over their relationship.”
—Angela Stent is a professor at Georgetown University and author of Putin’s
World: Russia Against the West and with the Rest
Se Hyun Ahn
Policing Northeast
Asia
The Politics of Security in Russia and Korea
Se Hyun Ahn
University of Seoul
Seoul, Korea (Republic of)
ISBN 978-981-15-5115-4 ISBN 978-981-15-5116-1 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-5116-1
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Acknowledegments
No writer ever completed a book on his own, and many individuals
deserve and rightfully share the credit for my having completed this one.
I have many people to thank and to acknowledge from my past I have
worked on this book. Listing them here insufficiently acknowledges the
gratitude that I feel. First, I would like to thank Professor Margot Light
for her excellent advice and support since this book is my Ph.D. thesis
based. I have been unusually fortunate to study under her direction. She
hastheremarkableabilitytobringclaritytoclutteredargumentnomatter
what the topic, and this book has greatly benefited from her thoughtful
counsel and attention to detail. She has been extraordinarily supportive
and encouraging. Without her help, completion of this book would have
been impossible. My deep thanks to her.
Also at Palgrave Macmillan, I would like to express special appreci-
ation to Jacob Dreyer, Senior Editor for politics and economics, and
Anushangi Weerakoon, Assistant Editor, and Punitha Balasubramaniam,
Production Editor, for the arrangement, intelligence, care, and very
thoughtful editing. Here, I am also thankful to Professor Jeong Won
Bourdais Park from KIMEP University who read parts of the manuscript
and contributed to my thinking and understanding. She has been excep-
tionally generous with her time in reading draft.
Last, but hardly least, most importantly, I have no doubt that without
Professor Kwang Shik Ahn and Professor Sook Ja Lim, my parents’
love and unconditional support, as well as Professor Lee Jee Won, my
v
vi ACKNOWLEDEGMENTS
wife’s existence and love, this book could never have been undertaken,
let alone completed. I have drawn strength from their sacrifice, loyalty,
and unwavering patience. I am the luckiest person in the world. Their
loveandsupporthavebeensustainingallalongthisconsiderablejourney.
No amount of thanks here can begin to repay my debt of gratitude to
them. So it is to them that I dedicate this work. Last truthfully, my deep
gratitude to God for everything. He has guided and formed my life.
Se Hyun Ahn
Contents
1 Introduction 1
1 Historical Overview 4
1.1 Gorbachev’s South Korean Policy 4
1.2 Russian-South Korean Relations During
the Yeltsin Presidency 8
1.3 Putin’s Policy Towards South Korea 13
2 Previous Studies of Russian-South Korean Relations 18
2.1 Descriptive Historical Narrative Approaches 19
2.2 International Relations Theory Approaches 21
2.3 Regional Approaches: Russian Policy Towards
Northeast Asia 24
2.4 Trilateral Approaches: Moscow, Pyongyang,
and Seoul 26
2.5 Security Approaches 27
3 Limits of the Existing Literature and the Contribution
of This Book 29
4 Structure of the Book 31
2 Comprehensive Security 35
1 The Concept of Security 35
2 The Relevance of Comprehensive Security 37
3 Economic Security 41
vii
viii CONTENTS
4 Comprehensive Security and Regional Economic Security
in Northeast Asia 45
5 Russia’s Approach to Comprehensive Security
in Northeast Asia 48
6 Comprehensive Security and Economic Security
in Bilateral Russian-South Korean Relations 52
7 The Specific Features of Comprehensive Security
and Regional Economic Security Cooperation Between
Moscow and Seoul 54
7.1 Energy Security 54
7.2 Linking Transport Networks as an Element
of Regional Economic Security 59
7.3 The Nakhodka Free Economic Zone and Economic
Security 62
7.4 Fishery and Regional Economic Security Concerns 66
7.5 Arms Trade and Economic Security 69
7.6 The North Korean Factor 71
3 Energy Security Cooperation 73
1 Introduction 73
2 The Energy Situation in Northeast Asia 74
2.1 The Demand for Natural Gas 74
2.2 The Development of Natural Gas in Northeast Asia 76
3 The Energy Situation in Korea 77
4 Russia’s Role in the Northeast Asian Energy Market 80
5 The Development of Russian-South Korean Energy
Cooperation 83
5.1 The Kovykta Gas Field (Irkutsk) 83
5.2 Sakhalin Project 87
5.3 Comparison Between the Kovykta and Sakhalin
Projects 92
5.4 Other Energy Projects 92
6 Obstacles 94
6.1 Bilateral Problems 94
6.2 The Limits of the Russian Far East:
Underdevelopment and Harsh Environment 98
6.3 Regional Problems 100
7 Implications of Energy Cooperation for Bilateral
and Regional Economic Security 103
CONTENTS ix
4 Transport Network Cooperation: The Trans-Siberian
and Trans-Korean Railroad Linking Project 109
1 Introduction 109
2 Background of the TSR 110
3 The Development of the Project to Link the TSR and TKR 114
4 Obstacles 120
4.1 Economic Dimension 120
4.2 Technical Difficulties 121
4.3 North Korean Participation 123
4.4 Problems Within Russia 124
4.5 Problems Within South Korea 126
5 Sceptics and Optimists 127
6 Implications of Railroad Linkage for Economic Security 140
5 The Nakhodka Free Economic Zone Cooperation 143
1 Introduction 143
2 Free Economic Zone in Russia 144
3 The Nakhodka Free Economic Zone 147
4 The South Korean-Russian Industrial Complex
in the Nakhodka FEZ 153
4.1 The First Stage: 1992–1996 153
4.2 The Second Stage: 1999–Present 156
5 Obstacles 158
5.1 Lack of a Long-Term Strategy 159
5.2 Conflict Between Centre and Periphery 160
5.3 The Lack of Infrastructure 163
5.4 The Lack of a Legal Framework 163
5.5 Crime and Local Mafias 166
6 Implications for Bilateral and Regional Economic
Security 167
6 Fishery Cooperation 171
1 Introduction 171
2 The Importance of Russian Far East Fishery to Russia
and South Korea 173
3 The Development of Fishery Diplomacy Between Russia
and South Korea 177
3.1 The Pollack Quota Dispute 179
x CONTENTS
3.2 The Dispute Over Fishing Right Charges
for Cuttlefish 184
3.3 The Saury Dispute 184
4 Causes of the Disputes in Russian-South Korean Fishery
Relations 187
4.1 Illegal Fishing 188
4.2 Korean Fishery Diplomacy 199
5 Implications of Fishery Cooperation for Bilateral
and Regional Economic Security 200
7 Arms Trade Cooperation 203
1 Introduction 203
2 Russian Arms Transfers After the Collapse of the Soviet
Union 204
3 The Development of Military Cooperation Between
Russia and South Korea 211
4 Obstacles to Russian-South Korean Arms Trade
Cooperation 225
4.1 Technical Difficulties 225
4.2 Lack of Experience 227
4.3 US Objections 227
4.4 North Korean Objections 230
5 Implications for Russian-South Korean Security
Cooperation 231
5.1 Economic Security Dimension 231
5.2 Political and Strategic Security Dimension 233
5.3 Limits and Threats 234
8 The North Korean Factor 237
1 Introduction 237
2 The Evolution of Russian Policy Towards Pyongyang 238
2.1 Gorbachev’s Approach 239
2.2 Yeltsin’s Approach 242
2.3 Putin’s Policy 246
3 Russia and the North Korean Nuclear Weapons
Programme 248
3.1 The First Crisis (1993–1994) 251
3.2 The Second Crisis (2002–2005) 253