Global Korea: Broadening Korea’s Diplomatic Horizons

Korea Chair Platform

It is valid to say that the stability of the international system hinges on the balance of power among major powers and/or whether these states can build cooperative relations. International relations of the 21st century, however, are too complex to rely solely on major powers. Economic imbalances between advanced and developing nations, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD), terrorism, cyber threats to security, and climate change – all these are issues that the concert of great powers alone cannot resolve. The world today hence calls on the so-called "middle powers" to play a more proactive role in filling in the lacunae of "great power politics." Only when countries like Australia, Indonesia, Mexico, South Africa, Turkey, and the Republic of Korea (ROK) carry out proactive diplomacy with global visions, can a stable and prosperous global system be possible.

Author:

Dr. Kim Sung-han
Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade

Dr. Kim Sung-han