The Implementing System of the Policy towards North Korea and Smart Power

This paper explores how the concept of smart power could be adapted into the implementing system of the policy towards North Korea. Given the unresolved nuclear situation with North Korea, it would be useful to consider a new paradigmatic shift for the mid- and long-term policy towards North Korea, with the concept of smart power that recently stemmed from the United States. Although smart power denotes combination of the hard power consisting of the military and economic strength with the soft power based on culture, political value, and foreign policy, is not clear in conceptualization. However, it is bringing attention to what we call the attraction resources of South Korea, in the discussion for the policy towards Pyongyang. The North Korea policy could not be expected to be effective until it takes North Korea, domestic and international society into account in its implementation stage. Previously, the policy towards North Korea was predominantly involved with hard power, that lacked interest in the efforts by the government to incorporate various resources in the process of the policy-making and policy-implementation. Smart power strategy focuses on mobilizing attraction resources vis-a-vis North Korea, and on legitimizing the policy-making and policy-implementation of North Korea policy. This paper argues the following four points in order to enhance the implementing system of the policy towards North Korea in the context of smart power. Firstly, government should improve the function of the control tower in coordinating the policy-making process. Secondly, in order to implement the smart power strategy in its policy, it needs to reform the human and organizational institutions within the government. Thirdly, the cooperating system between government and civil society should be elaborated. Fourthly and lastly, it would be necessary to improve the civil societys understanding of the North Korea problem and national reunification