Consistent pattern of DRPK’s policy on ROK: What shapes North Korea’s foreign policy?

Abstract

Identity is the basis of North Korea’s regime legitimacy. As a divided country, North Korea’s legitimacy is forged in the inter-Korean comparison. This paper starts with the question of what factors influence whether North Korea chooses to implement risky or cooperative policies toward South Korea, as well as what role domestic politics and ideology play in The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s (DPRK) formation and enactment of foreign policy.

This paper confirmed that the Pyongyang leadership’s policy priority has mostly depended on identity need. Also, we infer that Pyongyang tends to take a hostile stance whenever the South government is willing to infringe Pyongyang’s legitimacy and dignity regardless of the South’s economic assistance. This research attempts to explain how historical and cultural contexts play in the DPRK’s formation of its policy toward the Republic of Korea, and also examines Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of the Pyongyang regime, through the lens of content analysis in order to determine the DPRK’s perception and policy preferences toward the The Republic of Korea (ROK).