China vs. South Korea

1953 - 1992

Core issue: Ideological conflict between China and South Korea, and mututal non-recognition
as legitimate representatives of Chinese and Korean people, respectively

Type of conflict ending: Peaceful thawing

Relations between South Korea and China were frozen since the end of the Korean War in 1953, until the two countries formally established diplomatic relations in 1992. The Korean War was a territorial dispute over the Korean Peninsula with the communist North fighting against the capitalist South. The core issue, ideological difference, was not resolved during the war.

The People's Republic of China was initially hesitant to join the Korean War. The Chinese Civil War that brought the Communist Party into power had only ended one year before, and the new government faced internal political and economic challanges. The North Korean Army, the KPA, and Kim Il-Sung campaigned for assistance from China and the Soviet Union, but initially failed. Change occurred once the North was militarily successful and the United Nations Command joined the war. Although the United Nations Command was a multinational force under the command of the UN, it was predominantly composed of US personnel, which Beijing perceived as a threat. A pro-Western government on its border might have threatened its sovereignty, and therefore China was keen to keep North Korea as a buffer state. Once the UNC and the South Korean army had crossed the 38th parallel, Mao Zedong was able to shift the political will in China and join the fight in Korea. The fighting was concluded by the Korean Armistice Treaty after three years. China signed the treaty, but the South Koreans did not; nevertheless, fighting halted and a demilitarized zone was created.

Little cooperation was possible following the end of the conflict due to the Cold-War environment. South Korea was closely aligned with the United States and recognized only the Republic of China (Taiwan) as the legitimate authority in China, while Beijing only recognized Pyongyang. This made any thawing almost impossible as there was hardly any diplomatic contact between the two countries through the 1960s. It was not until the Park Chung-Hee government that South Korea's foreign policy priorities shifted and relations with communist countries improved. Although this did not lead to immediate change in the relationship between the two governments, it led the way for increased economic cooperation in the 1980s.

By the late 1980s, the situation began to change more rapidly. The Roh Tae-Woo government in South Korea sought to find connections on non-ideological issues like mutual prosperity, following the Nordpolitik model. This complemented an earlier shift in Chinese foreign policy made by Deng Xiaoping in 1982. Deng Xiaoping aimed to move China towards independence and non-alliance, and this opened a window-of-opportunity for more cooperation with South Korea. The ensuing normalization process in 1992, known as Operation East Sea, resulted in the mutual recognition of each other's sovereignty. Hence, peaceful thawing led to the creation of bilateral diplomatic relations on August 24, 1992.

Sources

Chung, J.H., 2007. Between Ally and Partner. New York, NY: Columbia University Press.

Hao, J. and Z. Qubing, 1992. "China's Policy toward the Korean Peninsula", Asian Survey, 32 (12), 1137-1156.

Kim, M., 2016. "South Korea's China Policy, Evolving Sino-ROK Relations, and Their Implications for East Asian Security: South Korea, China, East Asian Security", Pacific Focus, 31 (1), 56-78.

Lin, L., Y. Zhao, M. Ogawa, J. Hoge, and B.Y. Kim, 2009. "Whose History? An Analysis of the Korean War in History Textbooks from the United States, South Korea, Japan, and China", The Social Studies, 100 (5), 222-232.

Liu, H., 1993. "The Sino-South Korean Normalization: A Triangular Explanation", Asian Survey, 33 (11), 1083-1094.

Stuart, D.T., 1997. "Toward Concert in Asia", Asian Survey, 37 (3), 229-244.