Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Dedication
- Contents
- Foreword
- Introduction
- 1 Captain Broughton, HMS Providence (and her tender) and his voyage to the Pacific 1794–98
- 2 The ‘Bankoku Shimbun Affair’: Foreigners, the Press and Extraterritoriality in Early Modern Japan
- 3 Japan undermines extraterritoriality: Extradition in Japan 1885–1899
- 4 British Journalists in Meiji Japan
- 5 The Tokyo Embassy, 1871–1945
- 6 Captain Francis Brinkley (1842–1912): Yatoi, Scholar and Apologist
- 7 William Keswick, 1835–1912: Jardine's Pioneer in Japan
- 8 The Era of the Unequal Treaties, 1858–99
- 9 Ernest Cyril Comfort: The Other British Aviation Mission and Mitsubishi 1921–1924
- 10 Korea, Taiwan and Manchuria: Britain's Consular Service in the Japanese Empire, 1883–1941
- 11 John Carey Hall (1844–1921): A Career in the Japan Consular Service
- 12 Memories of the Past: The Legacy of Japan's Treaty Ports
- 13 The Centenary of Korea-British Diplomatic Relations: Aspects of British Interest and Involvement in Korea, 1600–1983
- 14 The Anglican Cathedral Seoul 1926–1986
- 15 British Public opinion and the Korean War: A preliminary survey
- 16 A Brush with History: Opening the British Embassy Pyongyang, 2001–02
- 17 Potboiler Press: British Media and North Korea
- 18 Reflections on North Korea: Myths and Reality
- 19 Twenty Years a-Stagnating – The Lost Opportunity of Britain's Relationship With the DPRK
- 20 Building politics: The British Embassy Peking, 1949–1992
- 21 Diplomacy in the East: Seoul, Beijing and Pyongyang 1981–2002
- 22 Odd Arne Westad. The Global Cold War
- 23 Charles Stephenson. Germany's Asia-Pacific Empire: Colonialism and Naval Policy, 1885–1914
- 24 Gordon Pirie. Air Empire: British Imperial Civil Aviation 1919–1939
- 25 Margaret Hall. The Imperial Aircraft Flotilla: The Worldwide Fundraising Campaign for the British Flying Services in the First World War
- 26 Richard T. Chang. The Justice of the Western Consular Courts in Nineteenth Century Japan
- 27 Michael Auslin. Negotiating with Imperialism: The Unequal Treaties and Culture of Japanese Diplomacy
- 28 Ian Nish. The Japanese in War and Peace 1942–1948: Selected Documents from a Translator's In-tray
- 29 Hugh Cortazzi, ed. Carmen Blacker – Scholar of Japanese Religions, Myth and Folklore: Writings and Reflections
- 30 Christian Polak, ed., with Hugh Cortazzi. Georges Bigot and Japan 1882–1899: Satirist, Illustrator and Artist Extraordinaire
- 31 Anthony Farrar-Hockley. The British Part in the Korean War. Vol. I: A Distant Obligation; Vol. II: The British Part in the Korean War. Volume II: An Honourable Discharge
- 32 Erik Cornell. North Korea under Communism: Report of an Envoy in Paradise
- 33 Valérie Gelézeau. Séoul, ville géante, cites radiuses
- 34 Donald N. Clark. Living Dangerously: The Western Experience in Korea 1900–1950
- 35 Jane Portal. Art under Control in North Korea
- 36 Felix Abt. A Capitalist in North Korea: My Seven Years in the Hermit Kingdom
- 37 Kevin O’Rourke. My Korea: 40 Years without a Horsehair Hat
- 38 Arissa H. Oh. To Save the Children of Korea: The Cold War Origins of International Adoption
- 39 Keith Howard. Songs for ‘Great Leaders’: Ideology and Creativity in North Korean Music and Dance
- 40 Michael Lindsay. The Unknown War: North China 1937–1945
- 41 P. D. Coates. The China Consuls
- 42 Michael J. Moser and Yeone Wei-chih Moser. Foreigners within the Gates: The Legations at Peking
- 43 Hsiao Li Lindsay. Bold Plum: With the Guerrillas in China's War against Japan
- 44 Hugh Baker. Ancestral Images: A Hong Kong Collection
- 45 Robert Bickers and Isabella Jackson, eds., Treaty Ports in Modern China: Law, Land and Power
- 46 Odd Arne Westad. Empire and Righteous Nation: 600 Years of China Korea Relations
- Notes
- Index Names
- Index Places
19 - Twenty Years a-Stagnating – The Lost Opportunity of Britain's Relationship With the DPRK
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 22 February 2024
- Frontmatter
- Dedication
- Contents
- Foreword
- Introduction
- 1 Captain Broughton, HMS Providence (and her tender) and his voyage to the Pacific 1794–98
- 2 The ‘Bankoku Shimbun Affair’: Foreigners, the Press and Extraterritoriality in Early Modern Japan
- 3 Japan undermines extraterritoriality: Extradition in Japan 1885–1899
- 4 British Journalists in Meiji Japan
- 5 The Tokyo Embassy, 1871–1945
- 6 Captain Francis Brinkley (1842–1912): Yatoi, Scholar and Apologist
- 7 William Keswick, 1835–1912: Jardine's Pioneer in Japan
- 8 The Era of the Unequal Treaties, 1858–99
- 9 Ernest Cyril Comfort: The Other British Aviation Mission and Mitsubishi 1921–1924
- 10 Korea, Taiwan and Manchuria: Britain's Consular Service in the Japanese Empire, 1883–1941
- 11 John Carey Hall (1844–1921): A Career in the Japan Consular Service
- 12 Memories of the Past: The Legacy of Japan's Treaty Ports
- 13 The Centenary of Korea-British Diplomatic Relations: Aspects of British Interest and Involvement in Korea, 1600–1983
- 14 The Anglican Cathedral Seoul 1926–1986
- 15 British Public opinion and the Korean War: A preliminary survey
- 16 A Brush with History: Opening the British Embassy Pyongyang, 2001–02
- 17 Potboiler Press: British Media and North Korea
- 18 Reflections on North Korea: Myths and Reality
- 19 Twenty Years a-Stagnating – The Lost Opportunity of Britain's Relationship With the DPRK
- 20 Building politics: The British Embassy Peking, 1949–1992
- 21 Diplomacy in the East: Seoul, Beijing and Pyongyang 1981–2002
- 22 Odd Arne Westad. The Global Cold War
- 23 Charles Stephenson. Germany's Asia-Pacific Empire: Colonialism and Naval Policy, 1885–1914
- 24 Gordon Pirie. Air Empire: British Imperial Civil Aviation 1919–1939
- 25 Margaret Hall. The Imperial Aircraft Flotilla: The Worldwide Fundraising Campaign for the British Flying Services in the First World War
- 26 Richard T. Chang. The Justice of the Western Consular Courts in Nineteenth Century Japan
- 27 Michael Auslin. Negotiating with Imperialism: The Unequal Treaties and Culture of Japanese Diplomacy
- 28 Ian Nish. The Japanese in War and Peace 1942–1948: Selected Documents from a Translator's In-tray
- 29 Hugh Cortazzi, ed. Carmen Blacker – Scholar of Japanese Religions, Myth and Folklore: Writings and Reflections
- 30 Christian Polak, ed., with Hugh Cortazzi. Georges Bigot and Japan 1882–1899: Satirist, Illustrator and Artist Extraordinaire
- 31 Anthony Farrar-Hockley. The British Part in the Korean War. Vol. I: A Distant Obligation; Vol. II: The British Part in the Korean War. Volume II: An Honourable Discharge
- 32 Erik Cornell. North Korea under Communism: Report of an Envoy in Paradise
- 33 Valérie Gelézeau. Séoul, ville géante, cites radiuses
- 34 Donald N. Clark. Living Dangerously: The Western Experience in Korea 1900–1950
- 35 Jane Portal. Art under Control in North Korea
- 36 Felix Abt. A Capitalist in North Korea: My Seven Years in the Hermit Kingdom
- 37 Kevin O’Rourke. My Korea: 40 Years without a Horsehair Hat
- 38 Arissa H. Oh. To Save the Children of Korea: The Cold War Origins of International Adoption
- 39 Keith Howard. Songs for ‘Great Leaders’: Ideology and Creativity in North Korean Music and Dance
- 40 Michael Lindsay. The Unknown War: North China 1937–1945
- 41 P. D. Coates. The China Consuls
- 42 Michael J. Moser and Yeone Wei-chih Moser. Foreigners within the Gates: The Legations at Peking
- 43 Hsiao Li Lindsay. Bold Plum: With the Guerrillas in China's War against Japan
- 44 Hugh Baker. Ancestral Images: A Hong Kong Collection
- 45 Robert Bickers and Isabella Jackson, eds., Treaty Ports in Modern China: Law, Land and Power
- 46 Odd Arne Westad. Empire and Righteous Nation: 600 Years of China Korea Relations
- Notes
- Index Names
- Index Places
Summary
It has been twenty years since Britain and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) agreed to establish diplomatic relations. Both sides had very different expectations from the outset – Britain thought it might influence the DPRK toward becoming a better member of the world community. The DPRK, for its part, thought that the British move indicated a growing importance of their country internationally, a willingness to provide training and assistance, and, perhaps, a counterbalance to the United States. However, none of this has come to pass, and as of now, there are few indications that will change.
IN THE BEGINNING
On December 12, 2000, the most senior official of the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office (now the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, FCDO), Sir John Kerr, and the head of the European Department of the DPRK Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), Kim Chun Guk, signed a document in London establishing diplomatic relations. Britain had established diplomatic relations with the Republic of Korea (ROK) in 1949, but it refused to even formally recognize the DPRK until it voted for the admission of both Koreas to the United Nations (UN) in September 1991.
Even then, Britain kept North Korea at arms’ length, in deference to what it believed were the wishes of the ROK and United States. There were occasional low-level political talks that were probably unsatisfactory on both sides. In essence, the British side would criticize the North over nuclear issues and human rights, which the latter rejected. As late as the summer of 2000, British ministers turned down a proposal from the DPRK foreign minister to establish diplomatic relations.
But the ground was shifting at that time. Inter-Korean relations were rapidly improving, with a first-ever summit between the two leaders, Kim Dae-jung and Kim Jong Il, in June 2000. Like most countries, Britain welcomed this, but paid little attention at first to the parallel suggestion from the ROK that its friends should bolster this development by establishing diplomatic relations with the DPRK.
British ministers remained reluctant on this front until that autumn. On their way to Seoul for the Asia-Europe meeting, Prime Minister Tony Blair and Foreign Secretary, Robin Cook decided to establish formal relations with the DPRK to boost South Korean President Kim Dae-jung's policy aimed at building peace on the peninsula.
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- East Asia ObservedSelected Writings 1973-2021, pp. 257 - 263Publisher: Amsterdam University PressPrint publication year: 2023