Inter-Korean cooperation in the fisheries industry: modeling trust and peace building on the ECSC

The predecessor of the European Union (EU), the European Coal and Steel Community, was successful in its dual goal of providing peace and prosperity to the European subcontinent in large part because its institutions fostered enduring relations between government officials. Mirroring the European focus on coal and steel, this paper suggests inter-Korean cooperation in the fisheries industry. The Yellow Sea border and the disputed Northern Limit Line has been the scene of deadly clashes between the two Koreas. Cooperation in the fisheries industry would provide economic benefits while it can build trusting relations between the two Koreas as a necessary condition for political cooperation. As coal and steel were only a start for the EU, and implemented clearly with greater political goals in mind, so can the integration of the fishery industries provide a similar starting point in the search for peace and security for the Korean peninsula.