Coping with a Nuclear North Korea

Mostly Helpful Perspective on Nuclear North Korea
Posted by: robgregory on Thu, 19 Jun 08 01:30:33 +0000

Overall this article is quite helpful. The following are some valuable key points:

- North Korea has signed many international declarations on non-proliferation in the past, and has therefore done so with no real intention of following through, since its nuclear ambitions stem from its early relations with the Soviet Union. From a Realist perspective, this is nothing new. A country says one thing and does just the opposite. What ever makes the most sense for the self-interested country.

- The desire to arm itself with nuclear weapons is largely due to complex relations: mainly its relationship with South Korea, but also vis-a-vis China, the US, and the region overall. The decision to test a nuclear weapon is partly a response to US hegemony and the Bush Doctrine.

- North Korea is deperate. The country is a very poor and economically backwards country; meanwhile, South Korea has flourished economically, relatively speaking. To help legitimize its power, the government seeks to create an image of success and power vis-a-vis perceived nuclear strength. Our economy is poor, but we are a force nonetheless.

Now, there are a few question marks in the author's analysis. Namely, we are told that the theory that North Korean actions can be explained by America's dogged stance on the Axis of Evil post 9/11 is mostly not true. The US invaded and occupied Iraq after all, and talks of invading Iran were, and continue to be, ubiquitous. Still, this logic is at fist questioned, and later is made into an important reason that North Korean continued its nuclear policy and tested the weapon. So it is or isn't important? Secondly, the author states that Iraq would have been smart to arm itself with nuclear weapons, since this would have prevented a US invasion. Meanwhile, North Korean's actions should be seen as blunder, since this is likely to increase hostility with the US, and especially the likeliness of nuclear war. Sure, theories are not one-size-fits-all for all countries; Iraq is a different dilemma for the US than North Korea is, but some more clarification here would have been helpful.

Overall, though, it's a very helpful article.