The effect of domestic and international actors in South Korea's diplomatic signaling after Cheonan sinking.

The importance of diplomatic signaling in the Korean peninsula is very high because the tension remains high too. The sinking of Cheonan, allegedly by a North Korean torpedo, on zs" March 2010 dramatically escalated the confrontation. However, the interest of both Koreas is not served by an 'all-out war'. Thus, Seoul attempted to punish North Korea for its provocation through a series of diplomatic signals, rhetorical and substantive. Yet, its signals were interfered by signals from other major actors with deep interest in Korean peninsula namely opposition Democratic Party, China and the US. This dissertation analyzes the impact of these actors' interference on Seoul's diplomatic signaling after the sinking of Cheonan till North Korea shelled a South Korean island called Yeonpyong on 23rd November, 2010. It concludes that the contrasting signals by the opposition parties and China dampened the credibility of Seoul's signals. While the US'ssupport enhanced Seoul's signals during the same time, it was not enough to coerce Pyongyang to accept its responsibility in sinking of the Cheonan and apologize. Having a superpower ally locked into a security alliance does not guarantee that Seoul's signals of threat are taken seriously, especially in stances short of all-out war. It requires diplomatic subtlety and flexibility to identify the major actors in the crisis and deal with them correspondingly.Master of Science (International Relations