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Recasting ‘Nuclear-Free Korean Peninsula’ as a Sino-American Language for Co-ordination

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 January 2012

TAKU TAMAKI
TAKU TAMAKI*
Affiliation:
Department of Politics, History, and International Relations, Loughborough University, Leicestershire LE11 3TUT.Tamaki@lboro.ac.uk
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Abstract

A series of Six-Party Talks involving the United States, China, Japan, South and North Korea, and Russia resulted in the emergence of a narrative of a ‘nuclear-free Korean Peninsula’. Given the prevalence of nuclear weapons amidst Sino-American rivalry, the area is hardly ‘nuclear-free’. Instead, the phrase has evolved into a common signifier for the US and China, suggesting that, despite their rivalries, the North Korean nuclear issue can be detrimental for both – a rare convergence of interests in an often sensitive bilateral relationship. This article provides a Constructivist perspective to this particular aspect of Sino-American balance of power by taking the language of ‘nuclear-free’ seriously, recasting the phrase as borne of both mutual scepticism, as well as convergent interests, over the Korean Peninsula.

Type
Research Article
Information
Japanese Journal of Political Science , Volume 13 , Issue 1 , March 2012 , pp. 59 - 81
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2012

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