| Summary/Abstract |
Purpose—This study examines whether economic integration between South and North Korea has promoted political cooperation and whether external forces are still a dominant factor in explaining their behavior. Design/methodology/approach—This study is based on a quantitative analysis of roll call data in the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) between 1991 and 2011. Vote coincidence between South and North Korea is examined. Findings—Empirical results show that economic integration does not generate significant effects on cooperation between the two Koreas, while their vote coincidence is strongly influenced by the political positions of the U.S. and China. Meanwhile, the two Korea’s tend to agree on economic issues but show dissimilar voting patterns over nuclear, security, and human rights issues.
Practical implication’s—The findings imply that economic and humanitarian cooperation between South and North Korea cannot be easily transferred to political cooperation in other areas without drawing support from powers such as the U.S. of economic integration on cooperation, efforts to reduce the North’s security concerns resulting from asymmetric dependence need to be followed.
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