A Study on the Revision of Domestic Legal System for the Promotion of North-South Green Detente
Authors:   Korea Society of Unification & North Korean Law Studies(North Korean Law Society), Ryu Ji-sung 
Published: March 2024

This paper raises the necessity and utility of environmental cooperation in the context of the climate change crisis caused by environmental pollution and the strained North-South relations influenced by the US-China rivalry. It presents a plan for the domestic legal revision needed to facilitate this. Particularly, in the case of North and South Korea, where land and sea are interconnected, a joint response to climate change is necessary, and such cooperation can be mutually beneficial. Additionally, environmental improvement projects in North Korea can enhance the quality of life of its residents, offering a humanitarian aspect and potentially not conflicting with international sanctions against North Korea. In this regard, efforts for environmental cooperation are necessary for both Koreas, and there is a considerable possibility that North Korea will respond to these efforts. According to reports submitted to the UN and others, environmental pollution in North Korea is at a serious level, and there is observed intent to seek international support for its resolution. This situation implies that the resolution of environmental issues between North and South Korea can at least be achieved within the framework of multilateral international cooperation. The South Korean government has proposed the “Green Detente” policy as part of its North Korea policy to address the problems arising from climate change in North and South Korea and East Asia. The Green Detente can be understood as a process that aims for unification through reconciliation and cooperation by enhancing mutual benefits through cooperation in the environmental sector, which is a non-political field. In a situation where political exchanges are difficult, environmental cooperation has the advantage of being less burdensome as it can be conducted through local governments, private sector, or so-called 1.5 track exchanges. However, when examining the current state of domestic legislation for promoting the Green Detente as part of this policy, several limitations and problems have been identified. Firstly, our laws do not anticipate the divided situation and are not formulated to be applicable to North Korean areas. Nor is there a special law for the promotion of Green Detente. Even if there were such a law, it would not be simple to pre-emptively legislate for various unpredictable situations. Therefore, the most useful approach currently available is to create a legislative environment for the implementation of the Green Detente policy by revising laws, particularly those governing North-South relations and laws addressing environmental pollution and disaster preparedness. A brief examination reveals that the Inter-Korean Exchange and Cooperation Act, which regulates all areas of inter-Korean exchange and cooperation, needs revision due to unnecessary and complex regulatory elements concerning environmental exchange and cooperation. Individual environmental laws lack the foundation for research and study on North Korean areas and nearly lack provisions considering the possibility of cooperation with North Korea. Therefore, it is necessary to legislate including plans for cooperation, investigation, and research on North Korean areas in the provisions for establishing basic plans in individual environmental laws. Additionally, provisions related to international cooperation may be difficult to apply to bilateral cooperation issues between North and South Korea. The revision of domestic laws should be done in a way that respects the basic principles of unification under the constitution, does not harm North-South relations, prepares for unification, and complies with international standards on environmental issues.