Revisiting Inter-Korean Diplomacy during the Sino-US Détente (1969–1973): A Story of Multifaceted Exchanges

In this article, I delve into an underexamined subject: South Korea’s convoluted diplomatic exchanges with North Korea amidst the changing geopolitical scene created by the period of Sino-US détente between 1969 and 1973. Existing research on inter-Korean diplomacy is primarily found within South Korea, as most Western scholars discount any impact of inter-Korean diplomacy during this period. Not surprisingly, South and North Korea’s efforts to navigate the changing geopolitical environment via high-level talks has received inadequate attention from academia. This article retraces some of the lesser-known developments on the diplomatic front in the Asia Pacific region from the late 1960s to the early 1970s