On May 27th, 1949, Chile became the first Latin American country to recognize the government of the Republic of Korea. The next year, as consequence of the Korean War, the Fifth General Assembly of the United Nations determined the creation of the Uni...
On May 27th, 1949, Chile became the first Latin American country to recognize the government of the Republic of Korea. The next year, as consequence of the Korean War, the Fifth General Assembly of the United Nations determined the creation of the United Nations Commission for the Unification and Rehabilitation of Korea (UNCURK), with Australia, the Netherlands, the Philippines, Thailand, Turkey, Pakistan and Chile as member states.
Chile was an active member of this commission, but also tried to withdraw from this international organization two times. The first time, on August 11th, 1966, Chile tried to withdraw with motivations to shift its foreign policy. However, Chile was convinced by the United States and South Korea to reconsider its decision. Finally, Chile withdrew from the UNCURK on November 16th, 1970, after the democratic triumph of the Marxist regime headed by Salvador Allende. Only three years after Chile’s withdraw, on September 7th, 1973, UNCURK was disbanded by a resolution of the 28th United Nations General Assembly.
This thesis argues that Chile’s withdraw influenced the decision to disband the UNCURK. On explaining the dissolution of UNCURK, the impact of US‐China rapprochement and the role of North Korea’s foreign policy are the most accepted explanations. This thesis recognizes the impact of the US‐China negotiations and the leading role of North Korea’s foreign policy, but – tracing the development of Chile’s policy towards the Korean peninsula – argues that we need to consider the political developments of Third World countries in order to evaluate the effectiveness of North Korea’s foreign policy. Therefore, the Third World and the solidarity among these nations are important elements in the development of the Korean Question.
With this in mind, this paper will focus on Chile and North‐South Korea Relationship. In the 1960s, Chile’s relationship with the US is conceptualized as a catalyst of the Chile‐South Korea relationship. Therefore, when Chile’s relationship with the United States was good, Chile acted as an ally of South Korea. On the contrary, when conflicts occurred between both countries, the Chilean government showed indifference regarding to the Korean Question.
In the mid‐1960s, the new Chilean government changed its stance on the Korea issue. The Christian Democrats, while receiving American aid, tried to apply the principle of “universalism” to Chile’s foreign policy and promote relationships with all the countries, regardless of their ideology. Followed by lively exchanges between Chile and North Korea, Chile decided to establish relations with North Korea and withdraw from the UNCURK. South Korea and the United States were concerned about their position at the United Nations, so they put pressure on the Chilean government to reconsider their decision to withdraw.
In 1970, Chile’s recently elected Marxist government, which was immune to the pressure of the United States, decided to withdraw from the UNCURK and establish diplomatic relations with North Korea. This attitude of the Chilean government made the United States and South Korea reconsider the role and importance of UNCURK, as is reflected in the negotiations between China and United States.
In conclusion, despite being geographically far away from the Korean Peninsula, the role of Chile in Asian regional order changes that emerged after the normalization of China‐United States relations is far from being insignificant.