Document Type

Article

Publication Date

12-4-2017

Embargo Period

12-4-2018

Publication Title

Asia Europe Journal

Abstract

Since 2000, President Vladimir Putin of Russia has persistently pushed for trilateral economic projects involving Moscow, Seoul, and Pyongyang, especially in the fields of energy (oil, gas, and electricity) and transportation (railroad). The Kremlin has long maintained that its proposed trilateral projects would not only be economically beneficial to all but also pave the road to inter-Korean reconciliation and peaceful unification. This article addresses three questions regarding Putin’s trilateral economic projects. What motivates Russia to push for the projects? Would they bring benefits to the three countries? Would they facilitate Korean peace process? The authors argue that Putin’s trilateral economic projects are part of Russia’s quest for power and search for a multipolar world order and should be understood from the theoretical framework of Bstructural realism.^ The research finds that the projects are not feasible due to North Korea’s nuclear crisis and economic uncertainties and may be implemented after the current North Korea’s nuclear crisis is resolved diplomatically, if North Korea’s leadership changes or if inter-Korean reconciliation and cooperation is achieved by the progressive government of Moon Jae-In.

Volume

16

Issue

1

First Page

81

Last Page

99

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10308-017-0494-1

ISSN

1610-2932

Comments

This is a post-peer-review, pre-copyedit version of an article published in Asia Europe Journal. The final authenticated version is available online at: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10308-017-0494-1

This version of the article is under embargo until December 4, 2018.

Rights

©Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2017

Primo Type

Article

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