Implication of the Trilateral Security Cooperation among Korea, Japan and the U.S. in the midst of Turbulent International Security Order / Young-June Park

President Yoon Seok-yeol of South Korea has pushed forward the normalization of Korea-Japan relations and eventually reached an agreement on trilateral security cooperation among Korea, Japan and the U.S. in the Camp David summit meeting last August. On the joint declaration of trilateral security cooperation, despite public recognition of its necessity and direction in Korean society, strong critique has appeared in China and North Korea urging that trilateral security cooperation would endanger the security landscape in the Asia-Pacific region. However, this paper aims to vindicate the necessity of trilateral security cooperation in the context of growing security crisis across the Indo-Pacific region and on the Korean peninsula. We are witnessing the growing security tension among great powers like the U.S., Russia and China. Based on its rapid economic growth, China already began to challenge the hegemonic position of the U.S. in terms of military, economy, cutting-edge technology, etc. Aggressive military posture by China in the midst of rivalry between two great powers posed potential security threat to the Korean peninsula. Furthermore, Russia’s military posture during its war against Ukraine also added security burden for the entire world. Russia expressed its intention to use tactical nuclear weapon against Ukraine and made it clear that it will pull out of the New START treaty which has restricted its nuclear build up. Russia’s changing nuclear strategy also aggravated global security landscape, leaving negative effect on the Korean peninsula. In response to the worsening security architecture on the Korean peninsula and international arena, trilateral security cooperation among Seoul, Washington and Tokyo could be important bastion to protect security and common value like freedom and prosperity. Within the framework of trilateral security cooperation, Seoul should strengthen its deterrence posture against Pyongyang and contribute to the formation of lattice-like security cooperation network in the Indo-Pacific region.

Keywords: The U.S., Japan, Trilateral Security Cooperation, Second Cold War, North Korea, Lattice-like Security Framework

The San Francisco Peace Treaty, Reparations, Claims, and Apologies: International Law and International Politics of Colonial Rule / Chang-Wee Lee

Following the conclusion of the San Francisco Peace Treaty, Korea and Japan had long negotiations to normalize diplomatic relations in accordance with the provisions of the treaty. The two countries resumed diplomatic relations in 1965 with the Korea-Japan Basic Relations Treaty and the Claims Settlement Agreement. But Japan did not apologize for its colonial rule over Korea, and conflicts over forced labor and comfort women issues have been a major obstacle to improving relations. Korea and Japan first resolved the comfort women issue with the December 2015 Comfort Women Agreement. In March 2023, the Korean government also resolved the issue of forced labor by having the Foundation for Victims of Forced Mobilization Imperial Japan pay the judgment's compensation. However, Korea's judiciary has ruled differently than the government's diplomatic resolution of these issues. If the conflict between Korea and Japan over the past history is not resolved legislatively and judicially, the relationship could deteriorate again as the political landscape changes. In this context, this paper examines the legal issues and political circumstances surrounding the San Francisco Peace Treaty regime, Japan's position on the Claims Settlement Agreement, and apologies for the past history by Germany and other European states. Specifically, the issues of reparations, claims, and apologies for colonial rule are evaluated through the lens of the resolution of the past history, examining the compatibility of judicial resolution of foreign affairs issues with political realities.

Keywords: San Francisco Peace Treaty, Claims Settlement Agreement, Past History, Comfort Women, Forced Labor

Japan’s Response to the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF): Economy-Technology-Security Solidarity Strategy / Chang-Gun Park

This study examines Japan’s response to the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) negotiations since its declaration of participation. The discussion focuses on the specificity of Japan's multilateral economic negotiations in the Indo-Pacific region at a time when it is faced with the need for intergovernmental coordination to overcome supply chain crises amid uncertainty over the weakening of global value chains (GVC). Japan perceives the IPEF as a ‘loose linkage’ and expresses a ‘solidarity strategy’ of economy, technology, and security. Japan’s strategy seeks a new paradigm shift in international political economy, which is being shaped by the closer linkage of national security, economy, and technology due to the advancement of science and technology, the high-techisation of industry, and the intensification of the U.S.-China technological supremacy competition. In particular, Japan's approach to the IPEF is recognized as a new trade strategy that focuses on economic strategies and supply chain strengthening measures as an economic security strategya. In this context, Japan’s response to the IPEF is to strengthen economic and security linkages in response to geopolitical challenges, to lead the reorganization of supply chains

with trust value chains (TVC), and to expand strategic industries based on advanced technologies.

Keywords: Economy-Technology-Security, US-China Strategic Competition, Solidarity Strategy, Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), Japan

Chip War Fallout: Estimating the Impact of U.S. Tech Sanctions on China’s ICT Trade Network / Jong Hee Park

Amid intensifying strategic competition between the U.S. and China, the U.S. is implementing various policies to counter China‘s technological advancement. U.S. technology sanctions are particularly focused on the ICT sector, especially semiconductors and artificial intelligence. This study analyzes the effects of U.S. technology sanctions against China using trade data on 142 critical ICT products from 1995 to 2023. The analysis shows two interesting findings in ICT trade network. First, during the Trump and Biden administrations, there was no significant change in trade with China among the top 10 ICT trading countries, while other countries showed an increasing trend. Second, more notably, China’s network centrality in the ICT trade network declined significantly. China's network centrality in ICT trade decreased markedly through the Trump and Biden administrations, with the decline being particularly pronounced during the first two years of the Biden administration. While the U.S. appears to have succeeded in minimizing negative impacts on its own ICT companies, the U.S. network centrality did not show an increase corresponding to China’s decline. These results suggest that global ICT companies and other countries perceive U.S. technology sanctions against China as a long-term and structural change and are responding accordingly and, as a result, the global ICT value chain is diversifying to countries other than China and the U.S.

Keywords: Technology Sanction, Information and Communications Technology(ICT), Network, Trump Administration, Biden Administration, Centrality

“Space Diplomacy” in US-China Competition / Jungmi Cha

Space technology developed within a complex interplay of international political environments like the Cold War, military necessity, political vision, and nationalism, influencing diplomacy, security, and social spheres. During the Cold War, space was a primary arena for the power and influence competition between the U.S. and the USSR. In the early post-Cold War era, space became a zone for non-aligned international cooperation. However, with the resurgence of major power competition between the U.S. and China, space is once again emerging as an arena for competition in power and influence. This has led to increased investments by the U.S. and China in using space as a diplomatic and political resource to enhance their influence and build friendly coalitions. As space becomes a key battleground for future global leadership between the U.S. and China, there is growing interest and research into the U.S.-China space competition. However, there are few researches on the 'space diplomacy' competition between US and China. Therefore, this study analyzes space diplomacy in the context of the U.S.-China competition . It examines how China aims to become a great power by using space as the diplomatic resources to attract the Global South Countries and expand the China-led global partnerships such as “Space Silkroad” along the Belt and Road . It also analyzes how the U.S. is responding by securitizing China's rise in space, expanding space cooperation with allies, and strengthening technology containment against China. In conclusion, the study presents the implications of U.S.-China space diplomacy for the future international order. It highlights the risks of polarization in space politics, fragmentation of global space cooperation norms, and the potential for space to become an arena for major power conflicts, challenging the international order.

Keywords: Space Diplomacy, Science Diplomacy, US, China, Competition

A Comparative Evaluation of the Military Pension System: Comparison between Major 6 Foreign Country’s and Korean Public Pension Systems / Jaekyu Jang

The study analyzed the advantage of the military pension system within the public pension system in order to obtain policy implications for the reform of the military pension system in Korea, which is in a dilemma. The purpose of this study was to objectively investigate whether the advantage of the military pension system was a universally recognized social phenomenon. To this end, the study first selected and analyzed major 6 countries, including the United States, Germany, Japan, France, Canada, and the United Kingdom. As a result of the analysis, it was found that all countries recognized the advantage of the civil service pension system or the military pension system, and the countries that operate the military pension system separately recognized the advantage of the military pension system more. Subsequently, the Korean pension system was divided into four phases and analyzed in a time series. As a result of the analysis, unlike major 6 countries, the advantage of private workers was recognized in Korea's pension system, and the military pension system was operated as a separate system, but it did not have differentiation.

Keywords: Public Pension System, Military Pension System, Civil Service Pension System, National Pension System, Occupational Specificity

A Study of South Korea's Self-Reliant Defense Policy in the Early 1970s: Focusing on the “Arms vs. Alliances” Theory / Jaewook Chung

This study examines South Korea's self-reliant defense policy in the early 1970s from the perspective of alliance theory, specifically arms vs. alliances. It raises the question of why the self-reliant defense policy, proposed during the security crisis of 1968, was not pursued until two years later and explains this delay through the lens of arms vs. alliances. At the time, alliances were more efficient than arms build-up (self-reliant defense). The South Korean government's prioritization of alliance policy over self-reliance was due to a lack of internal resource mobilization capacity to implement the self-reliant defense policy. However, when efforts to strengthen alliances (such as revising the U.S.-ROK Mutual Defense Treaty or pursuing regional multilateral alliances such as APATO) failed, the government had to turn to a self-reliant policy. Tthe South Korean government had laid the groundwork for substantial self-reliant defense by simultaneously securing U.S. material support and expanding its internal resource base in the early 1970s.

Keywords: Self-Reliant Defense Policy in the Early 1970s; Arms vs. Alliances;Internal Resource Mobilization Capacity​