This study examines the process of reaching an agreement for the first inter-Korean summit after President Kim Dae-jung was elected in the 15th presidential election. In the process, the changes in South Korea's policy toward the North and the changes in North Korea's response to them were examined and the reasons for this were examined, and how the summit could be reached was confirmed. The inter-Korean summit means that the South and the North resolved the Korean Peninsula issue through dialogue. As seen in the example of East and West Germany, the first step in resolving the division problem is the recognition of the reality of division, that is, the recognition of another government system. The holding of the inter-Korean summit has the practical meaning that the South and the North recognize each other's regime, and has the meaning that South and North Korea, the parties involved, have declared both internally and externally internally and externally of their will and possibility to resolve the Korean Peninsula issue independently. As a way to study the process by which such an inter-Korean summit reached an agreement, each media including the North Korean , which responds to major journals of inter-Korean relations, , The argument was made using literature and existing research data on inter-Korean relations. To summarize the paper, following the introduction of Chapter 1, the characteristics of previous studies and the differences between this study were investigated. Chapter 2 contains a period of time when North Korea's reconciliation and cooperation policy was introduced based on the 'Kim Dae-jung Unification Theory' in the early days of the people's government, but the North became disappointed with the South, which had strict principles, and changed from expectation to disappointment. In Chapter 3, when South Korea implemented a more flexible policy toward North Korea, the reasons for North Korea's dual attitude of continuing civilian economic cooperation despite military conflicts were determined by the threat to the regime, internal circumstances of North Korea, and the pursuit of economic benefits. In Chapter 4, when South Korea promised the international community the stability of North Korea’s regime and economic cooperation at the government level with the 'Berlin Declaration', North Korea agreed to the first summit meeting, and the reason for this was to build trust in South Korea and South Korea’s assistance in thawing relations between the two countries. saw. This thesis was meaningful in analyzing the causes of inter-Korean harmony by comprehensively judging the changes in South Korea's policy toward North Korea, the immediate response of North Korea through related data, including the , and the surrounding circumstances. South Korea's policy toward North Korea and the internal and external circumstances of North Korea mentioned in this thesis are not sufficient but necessary conditions. After the first inter-Korean summit took place, the ripple effect on Korean society was truly enormous. With the evaluation that it was the nation's greatest historical event in 50 years of division, discussions on unification were more active than ever. Although there are differences in their evaluation of the meaning, it cannot be denied that the inter-Korean summit is a significant event that marks a mark in the history of the half century of division. The inter-Korean joint declaration issued as a result of the later summit does not stop at inter-Korean relations. At the inter-Korean summit in June, President Kim Dae-jung encouraged Chairman Kim Jong-il to engage in dialogue with the United States and Japan, and persuaded the leaders of the United States and Japan to end hostile relations with North Korea using the June 15 North-South Joint Declaration as an opportunity. This has resulted in South Korea helping North Korea to connect with the world community. Just as the process of reconciliation between the two Koreas remained a case in which the Korean Peninsula decided the fate of the Korean Peninsula, the implications of President Kim Dae-jung's policy of reconciliation and cooperation toward North Korea are ongoing. A more objective analysis will be possible if studies that can quantify the factors that have influenced the two Koreas follow in the future. Following that, it is hoped that studies will continue to identify the similarities and differences between how North Korea responded and the people's government under the regime that adopted the friendly policy toward North Korea.
본 연구의 목적은 남한이 대북정책의 기조로서 화해협력정책을 추진할 때 북한이 어떻게 반응했는지를 확인하는 것이다. 김대중 정부 때 우호적인 대북정책 추진에도 불구하고 북한은 서해 해상에서 두 차례의 군사적 도발을 일으킬 만큼 순순히 호응하지 않았다. 제1 연평해전은 1999년 6월 15일에 발발해 남한의 대북 화해협력정책의 성패를 가를 수 있는 심대한 도전이기도 했지만, 역설적으로 이로부터 정확히 1년 뒤인 2000년 남북 정상이 만나 ‘6.15 남북공동선언’ 합의까지 진행됐다. 남한 정부의 일관된 대북정책에도 불구하고 북한이 체제위협에 대한 우려와 더불어 남한 정부에 대해 품은 의구심을 내려놓고 호응하기까지 적지 않은 시간이 필요했다. 이런 점에서 남한이 추진한 대북 우호 정책의 구체적 대상인 북한이 전면적으로 호응하고 나서는 과정을 미시적으로 들여다 본다. 연구 범위는 김대중 정부가 출범한 1998년 2월부터 2년여 뒤인 2000년 4월 남북정상회담이 합의되는 과정을 살펴본다. 기본적으로 문헌분석을 주요 연구방법으로 활용하며, 가장 중점적으로 활용한 1차 자료는 북한 조선노동당 기관지인 『로동신문』이다. 이를 비롯해 방송, 북한의 공식적인 문헌, 자료, 주요인사의 발언 등에서 반복적으로 드러나는 입장에 주목한다. 시기별로 발생한 사건은 정부의 통일백서와 남북관계연표 등 공식적인 기관의 발간물을 참고하고 이와 관련된 연구를 활용해 상호 보완한다. 논문에서 국민의 정부 출범부터 정상회담 합의까지 과정에 살펴본 남한의 대북 화해협력정책은 남북관계가 진전하기 위한 충분조건이 아니라 필요조건이다. 국민의 정부는 출범과 동시에 대북 화해협력정책을 추진했지만 북한의 호응을 끌어내기까지 부침을 겪었다. 이 연구가 주는 시사점으로 남한의 일관된 우호 정책이 남북관계를 변화시킬 여지를 남겼다고 판단한다. 우호적인 대북정책만으로 정상회담까지 이를 수는 없었지만 한반도를 둘러싼 대내외 요소가 관계 진전에 유리한 상황이 되는 시기와 맞물려, 변하지 않는 대북 화해협력정책이 남북 화합의 토대가 됐다고 평가할 수 있다.