INTRODUCTION

The inclusion of international peace and security is one of the most notable developments in the new EU-Korea Framework Agreement, in comparison with the 1996 Framework Agreement for Trade and Cooperation. The 1996 Agreement largely focused on the economic aspects of cooperation, leaving security issues largely untouched. By contrast, security cooperation is mentioned frequently in the preamble to the new EU-Korea Framework Agreement, and this issue is incorporated into several substantive articles. Moreover, to mark the importance of security cooperation, the articles on security cooperation appear earlier than that on economic cooperation, that is, from Articles 4 to 7.

Such a marked difference between the two agreements begs two crucial questions: (1) what are the reasons for the extension of the Korea-EU cooperation towards security issues? and (2) what is the potential for further cooperation in this area?

Focusing on the first question, one should note that the security issues inserted in the new Framework Agreement are rather selective and do not cover a comprehensive range of security problems. In particular, traditional defence issues are not covered by the new Framework Agreement. Why did the two parties choose these issues to be covered by the Framework Agreement, but not others? To answer this question, it is necessary to investigate the changes in the security perspectives of both Korea and the EU, during the period since the conclusion of the 1996 Framework Agreement.