[KS] ROK-Israel

[Jiyul Kim]

On additional related comment to follow up on my last - the MOFAT 
archive also contains the rather sordid record of ROK-Israeli relations. 
I can't go into detail as it's been a while since I saw the documents 
but essentially ROK dragged its heels in establishing a proper 
diplomatic mission physically located in Israel for so long after Israel 
set up its embassy that Israel threatened to close it embassy. It 
finally did in 1972 (the last record in my research time period) and 
reopened only in 1992.

The records make it clear that the situation was a mathematical: there 
were many Arab countries whose UN vote were sought while Israel only had 
one. This despite the fact that Israel was the first nation to offer 
assistance when the Korean War started, helped in starting the ROK 
defense industry in the late 60s,its fortified kibbutz system served as 
a model for strategic villages set up in Kangwondo in the late 60s-early 
70s, and served as an inspirational national model for Park Chung Hee - 
a small country surrounded by big enemies but survived, became strong 
and rich and determined its own fate. The exact result Park wanted for 
SK as he often invoked in his speeches. The oil situation in the 1970s 
with the heavy industry program Park began probably exacerbated the 
divide since SK needed Middle Eastern oil.

JK


On 3/28/2013 3:45 PM, Yoo Kwang-On wrote:
>
> *_New Documents on the Two Koreas and the Third World_*
>
> *__*
>
> The North Korea International Documentation Project has recently 
> obtained and translated more than sixty documents from Romanian and 
> Hungarian archives on the struggle between North Korea and South Korea 
> to gain diplomatic recognition from countries across Africa, Asia, the 
> Middle East, and Latin America. The documents are being made available 
> to students, researchers, and interested readers through a collection 
> entitled *The Two Koreas and the Third World 
> <http://digitalarchive.org/collection/146/the-two-koreas-and-the-third-world> 
> *on the Wilson Center Digital Archive as part of a broader project on 
> the history of inter-Korean relations supported by the ROK Ministry of 
> Unification.
>
> The inter-Korean struggle took on global dimensions in the late 1970s 
> and early 1980s following the failure of the inter-Korean dialogue 
> (see the collections on the Inter-Korean Dialogue, 1971-1972 
> <http://www.digitalarchive.org/collection/124/inter-korean-dialogue-1971-1972> and 
> the Demise of Detente in Korea, 1973-1975 
> <http://www.digitalarchive.org/collection/126/demise-of-detente-in-korea-1973-1975> for 
> further information). Both Koreas sought allies and supporters across 
> the globe and particularly among countries active in the Non-Aligned 
> Movement (NAM). In exchange for diplomatic recognition, North Korea 
> and South Korea often provided economic aid, technical assistance, and 
> military support to countries in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and 
> Latin America.
>
> To explore the documents, click here to be redirected to the 
> collection *The Two Koreas and the Third World 
> <http://digitalarchive.org/collection/146/the-two-koreas-and-the-third-world> 
> *on the Wilson Center Digital Archive.
>
> The translation of these documents and others has been generously 
> supported by the ROK Ministry of Unification.
>
> For more information, please see: http://bit.ly/WZg849.
>

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