Dr Ranjit Kumar Dhawan is an Associate Fellow at the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (MP-IDSA), New Delhi. Click here for detailed profile.
The South Korean support to the designation of the Sado mine as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in July 2024 is reflective of the recent conciliatory approach of South Korea towards Japan with regards to the colonial history.
Despite the recent devastating floods in North Korea, the refusal of Pyongyang to accept foreign aid reflects the revival of Juche ideology under the leadership of Kim Jong-un.
The signing of a ‘Comprehensive Strategic Partnership’ agreement between Russia and North Korea for mutual defence assistance has raised serious concerns in South Korea.
In the arena of international relations nation-states have been regarded as the primary actors. However, the constituent units of nation-states have also become active in forging relations with the political units which are located outside the national borders through ‘para-diplomacy’. Since the 1990s the states of Indian union have been playing a significant role in India’s foreign affairs. The Narendra Modi government in New Delhi has also established a ‘States Division’ in the Ministry of External Affairs.
The Narendra Modi government after coming to power in May 2014 initiated the ‘Act East’ policy to further enhance New Delhi’s engagement with the countries of the Asia-Pacific region. However, India’s engagement with the two Koreas has not seen any significant improvement under the Modi government. North Korea’s isolationist policies and its involvement with India’s neighbouring countries with regard to the proliferation of nuclear and missile technologies have proved detrimental for relations between New Delhi and Pyongyang.
Korea’s rapid economic transformation from being one of the poorest countries during the 1950s to becoming a member of the Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in 1996 surprised the world, and is often considered the ‘Miracle on the Han River’. Within a period of a few decades, Korea became an economic powerhouse and one of the largest producers and exporters of steel, ships, automobiles, cell phones, etc. In recent years Hallyu or the ‘Korean Wave’ has taken the world by surprise.
