...The Nuclear Fallacy of North Korea Bill Gonzalez April 22 2013 Since its inception, North Korea has never ceased to stir up trouble with the international community. Officially know as the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK), North Korea split from the neighbouring South Korea at the end of the Second World War in 1945. The young nation was initially adopted by the Soviet Union, which implemented their Communist ideals into the countries government and society. The tension between the communist government of the north and the republican government of the south would eventually lead to the Korean War, a three-year conflict which saw the US and other members of the UN supporting South Korea and North Korea being supported by the Soviet Union and later China. The Korean War, which never ended in a piece treaty (it’s still technically going on today), would lead to the strained relations that exist between North Korea and the UN today. North Korea’s economy initially recovered from the aftermath of the Korean War, however increasing debt, inflation, the mismanagement of funds, numerous droughts, and the lack of western trade partners lead to an eventual economic decline in the late 1970’s. North Korea has since been one of the world’s poorest countries, with roughly 20-27% of the population living below the poverty line. The social economic issues in North Korea haven’t stopped the government from developing nuclear weapons however, a process which has lead to...
Words: 3699 - Pages: 15
...Should all countries in the world be able to develop their own nuclear weapons? More importantly, if so, can these countries be trusted? Richard Rhodes, the author of the essay entitled “Living with the bomb,” believes that they can. With cooperation and negotiations Rhodes believes nations can secure the deadly materials from which weapons of mass destruction are made of. He also believes that this will help reduce arsenals which will help eliminate possible future risks. The author somehow believes that regardless of the tensions in the Middle East and its surrounding countries, they are worthy of our trust in a matter as great and serious as their development of nuclear weapons. Throughout his essay, Rhodes cites several cases throughout history where there have been direct threats due to the fact that certain countries simply cannot be trusted. Nuclear weapons are an extremely big deal in our world today, especially when it comes to terrorism. The idea of relying only on cooperation to secure the materials required to build nuclear weapons is outrageous, and the only program that would eliminate all threats would be by disarming all countries of their nuclear programs. Although it would be very nice and beneficial to everyone if we could simply trust other nations in believing that they did not have motives in developing a nuclear arsenal, it is simply not possible. Although, Rhodes discusses the reasons why some of these countries cannot be trusted, he still believes that...
Words: 1533 - Pages: 7
...United States policy options for North Korean nuclear and strategic missile capabilities 16 February 2014 Benjamin J. McClellan CPT, USAR North Korea’s nuclear and strategic missile capabilities present grave challenges to regional security. Pyongyang’s propensity to export its weapons also threatens the global non-proliferation regime. Despite economic impoverishment and an inability to feed its people, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea remains heavily armed and ready to fire first. Its recent and continued military provocations demonstrate the potential for resumed conflict on the Korean Peninsula. Policymakers must determine the appropriate manner to address these threats. Current considerations for policy options include containment of North Korean capabilities, destruction of North Korean capabilities without regime change, and compelling regime change in North Korea. This paper will offer analysis on each of these policy courses of action. The merits and drawbacks of each will be weighed against the ends, ways, means framework of strategy formulation, as well as the suitability, feasibility, acceptability risk model. For the purposes of this analysis, the stipulated end is elimination of North Korea’s nuclear and missile capability. North Korea’s Nuclear and Missile Capabilities As recently as July 2013, North Korea is believed to possess between four and eight nuclear weapons. Pyongyang claims that this and further nuclear capability is necessary to deter...
Words: 1650 - Pages: 7
...TOKYO (AP) — The United States and Japan opened the door Sunday to new nuclear talks with North Korea if the saber-rattling country lowered tensions and honored past agreements, even as it rejected South Korea's latest offer of dialogue as a "crafty trick." U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry told reporters in Tokyo that North Korea would find "ready partners" in the United States if it began abandoning its nuclear program. Japan's foreign minister, Fumio Kishida, also demanded a resolution to a dispute concerning Japanese citizens abducted decades ago by North Korean officials. The diplomats seemed to point the way for a possible revival of the six-nation talks that have been suspended for four years. China long pushed has for the process to resume without conditions. But the U.S. and allies South Korea and Japan fear rewarding North Korea for its belligerence and the endless repetition of a cycle of tensions and failed talks that have prolonged the crisis. Kerry's message of openness to diplomacy was clear, however unlikely the chances appeared that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's government would meet the American's conditions. "I'm not going to be so stuck in the mud that an opportunity to actually get something done is flagrantly wasted because of a kind of predetermined stubbornness," he told U.S.-based journalists. "You have to keep your mind open. But fundamentally, the concept is they're going to have to show some kind of good faith here so...
Words: 1094 - Pages: 5
...on right now about north korea and the U.S. We ask questions to ourselves but we can't really figure out everything that's going on and what these countries are capable of doing. I will be here to show you the difference between koreas fire power and america's firepower, what is the conflict from both points of view, and how both countries are responding to what's going on. So, were going to talk about korea's fire power v.s the us. America Man power 145,215,000 Military personnel 2,363,675 Active personnel 1,373,650 Aircraft fighter strength 2,296 Aircraft attack strength 2,785 Defense budget 587,800,000,000 External budget 17,910,000,000,000 Money spent purchasing power 18,560,000,000,000 North Korea Man power 13,000,000 Military personnel 6,445,000 Active personnel 945,000 Aircraft fighter strength 458 Aircraft attack strength 572 Defense budget $7,500,000,000 External budget $5,000,000,000 Money spent purchasing power...
Words: 455 - Pages: 2
...NATIONAL DEFENSE UNIVERSITY NATIONAL WAR COLLEGE NORTH KOREA: AN ARGUMENT TO JUMPSTART THE ECONOMIC ENGINE LIEUTENANT COLONEL JOHN D. BIRD II, USAF NATIONAL WAR COLLEGE CLASS OF 2007 COURSE 6300, SEMINAR K NON-MILITARY ELEMENTS OF STATECRAFT FACULTY SEMINAR LEADER: AMBASSADOR JAMES B. FOLEY FACULTY ADVISOR: COLONEL THOMAS GRIFFITH, USAF 29 NOVEMBER 2006 Bird 1 On October 8, 2005, North Korea detonated a nuclear device, and forever changed the global political landscape. Despite the best efforts of the United States, China, South Korea, Japan, and Russia, the isolationist regime was not deterred from joining the elite nuclear club.1 Now faced with the prospect of North Korean nuclear proliferation, the world is undoubtedly a more dangerous place to live in. Over the last 50 years, virtually all the instruments of national power have been brought to bear in an effort to solve the security dilemma presented by the North Korean regime. The detonation on October 8th suggests these previous strategies were not nearly effective enough. A nuclear armed North Korea presents a grave danger that should force us to reexamine our policy. This paper focuses on the economic instrument, examines how it has been utilized over the last 15 years in both the Clinton and Bush administrations, and offers some thoughts on a desired endstate of North Korean economic integration. The Context--the Fall of Communism The fall of the Berlin wall was a watershed event in man’s political, social, and economic...
Words: 2980 - Pages: 12
...Conclusion This concluding chapter evaluates the implications of this research project through five sections. First, a postscript briefly recalls the process of US-North Korean interaction from the transition to the Administration of George W. Bush in 2001 to Pyongyang’s June 2008 demolition of the cooling tower at the Yongbyon nuclear facility. Secondly, and based on the findings of my empirical case study in Chapters Four and Five, I comparatively examine the strength of offensive realism, defensive realism and constructivism in explaining the extent to which US-North Korean security competition was mitigated from 1993 to 2000. The third section considers the implications of this research project’s findings for the ability of policymakers to exercise security dilemma sensibility. The fourth section concludes this PhD thesis by laying out a proposed research agenda that builds on the findings of this research project. 1. Postscript: Transition to George W. Bush George W. Bush succeeded to the US presidency in early 2001 on a political platform that pointed to elements of ideological fundamentalism and assumptions of inherent bad faith in Pyongyang. Robert Woodward argued that the Bush Administration’s outlook was based on moral absolutism that cast the US as a crusader against the ‘evil’ North Korean leadership. Similarly, Charles L. Pritchard, who served as National Security Council Director for Asian Affairs under the Clinton Administration, and the US Representative...
Words: 9664 - Pages: 39
...Nuclear power and the capability of handling it has been a large and controversial topic since the Cold War in the early 1950's. Today, there is a similar conflict involving the United States and North Korea. Both powers have the potential to inflict a major amount of destruction with nuclear power. Frontline, the investigative journalism branch of PBS, helps to shed light on this mysterious and complicated conflict through the documentary titled "North Korea's Deadly Dictator". This documentary gives the audience information about the lineage of the Kim Family and demonstrates how Kim Jong Un became the leader of North Korea. The documentary "North Korea's Deadly Dictator" attempts to persuade the audience to believe that North Korea is a...
Words: 852 - Pages: 4
...Cultural Awareness of North Korea By SGT Anderson, Alvin, D. ALC Class 718-12 SSG Rockhold North Korean Cultural Awareness Outline Understanding and respecting cultural differences is critical to our success in the world forum. We cannot hope to be a successful, diplomatic military without cultural awareness. 1. What Is Culture? a. The Definition of Culture b. Characteristics of a Culture 2. The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea c. About North Korea d. The Korean War 3. Juche e. Kim Il-sung f. The Effects of Kim Il-sung and Juche 4. Diplomacy With North Korea g. The Threat North Korea Poses h. Hope For the Future A diplomatic relationship with North Korea may not be possible at this time, But taking the time to get know and understand their culture and their angst against the US may help us further our relationship with them in the future. Alvin Anderson SSG Rockhold ALC 718-12 May 19, 2012 North Korean Culture What is culture? Culture is many things. Culture is almost everything. The word culture is very broad and encompassing. There is no simple, universally accepted definition for the word culture. It is by definition: the behavior and beliefs characteristic of a particular social, ethnic or age group. It is characterized a group of peoples’ traditions, religion, food, customs and language. Culture is dynamic. Culture is static. It both changes with the times and...
Words: 1592 - Pages: 7
...Frame GWC PS110 Due: 12/12/13 North Korea and Kim Jong Un Kim Jong Un is the the 29-year-old ruler of North Korea, one of the most distinctive and unpredictable countries in the world. It is a cocktail of poisonous elements: autocratic, repressive, isolated and poor (Powell).Its regime is dangerous not only to its people but also to the rest of the world. Its actions have had an unsettling impact on international relations in northeast Asia, particularly its nuclear tests in 2006 and 2009 and its shelling of Yeonpyeong Island in 2010, all of which led to tensions between China and the united States (Ahn). North Korea’s present and future, therefore, are of global concern (Powell). North Korea is "a Stalinist monarchy" where bloodlines, and only bloodlines, determine who the next dictator will be--no matter how young or inexperienced that person may be, notes South Korean scholar Cheong Seong-chang (Ahn). Nearly 30,000 U.S. troops sit across the border, helping defend South Korea against the 1.2 million-member army, most of it which exists within 30 miles of the demilitarized zone. Over the past decade, despite crippling economic sanctions imposed by most of the outside world, North Korea has defiantly developed and tested nuclear weapons and the long-range missiles needed to deliver them (Ahn). Western intelligence agencies make an educated guess that Pyongyang is holding 8 to 12 nuclear weapons. The hard truth is that North Korea is Asia's last remaining Cold War...
Words: 3352 - Pages: 14
...Kim Jong Un is the the 29-year-old ruler of North Korea, one of the most distinctive and unpredictable countries in the world. It is a cocktail of poisonous elements: autocratic, repressive, isolated and poor (Powell).Its regime is dangerous not only to its people but also to the rest of the world. Its actions have had an unsettling impact on international relations in northeast Asia, particularly its nuclear tests in 2006 and 2009 and its shelling of Yeonpyeong Island in 2010, all of which led to tensions between China and the united States (Ahn). North Korea’s present and future, therefore, are of global concern (Powell). North Korea is "a Stalinist monarchy" where bloodlines, and only bloodlines, determine who the next dictator will be--no matter how young or inexperienced that person may be, notes South Korean scholar Cheong Seong-chang (Ahn). Nearly 30,000 U.S. troops sit across the border, helping defend South Korea against the 1.2 million-member army, most of it which exists within 30 miles of the demilitarized zone. Over the past decade, despite crippling economic sanctions imposed by most of the outside world, North Korea has defiantly developed and tested nuclear weapons and the long-range missiles needed to deliver them (Ahn). Western intelligence agencies make an educated guess that Pyongyang is holding 8 to 12 nuclear weapons. The hard truth is that North Korea is Asia's last remaining Cold War trip wire (Ahn). This is the country now ostensibly helmed by...
Words: 327 - Pages: 2
...Will North Korea in due time undergo changes or experience implosions sooner or later ? Is a big changing or a revolution similar to the Arab Spring possible in North Korea? The answer from me and most scholars and intelligence analysts has been ‘‘NO’’ The Pyongyang regime’s stability in the aftermath of the events in the Middle East and North Africa is an ‘‘old question’’ that was answered in the 1990s when the DPRK (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, North Korea) faced the most critical test of its life, and survived. The collapse of the Soviet Union, the drastic cuts in patron aid from China, and the onset of famine that killed hundreds of thousands all constituted the ultimate test of DPRK stability, and the regime staggered on through it all.(1) There are five potential variables that could bring the Arab Spring to North Korea’s doorstep: individual socio-economic development, rates of economic growth (rising expectations), demography (youthful population), the contagion effect, or regime type. Do we see the possibility for change in the DPRK from any of these? Not really. In the months since Kim Jong-un has been in power, most telling is the way he remains overshadowed by his late father and grandfather. Kim jong Un's a contrast to his introverted dad, Kim Jong Il. In power for more than a year, Kim is very much an extrovert who loves to appear in public, watch his beloved hoops and deliver speeches. "Much of his behavior may be political theater aimed at convincing...
Words: 1525 - Pages: 7
.................................5 Head of Russian Church Urges Action on Vote Fraud Allegation….…………….……………………………..……………….…..…6 Tribute to Václav Havel attracts thousands…………………………………………………………….……………………………….……….7 Middle East Islamists' chance to lead change ............................................................................................................................ 8 Why Islamism Is Winning ....................................................................................................................................... 9 Kenyan troops join AU Somalia mission .............................................................................................................. 10 Asia WH calls for stable transition in North Korea . ..................................................................................................... 11 Turbulent times ahead for Korean Peninsula amid transition in Pyongyang. ...................................................... 12 Taliban Leader Claims Peace Talks Going On With Pakistan ............................................................................... 14 The Back Page Key US Economic...
Words: 10117 - Pages: 41
...Canadian International Council Strengthening the Non-Proliferation Regime: The Role of Coercive Sanctions Author(s): T. V. Paul Source: International Journal, Vol. 51, No. 3, Nuclear Politics (Summer, 1996), pp. 440-465 Published by: Canadian International Council Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40203123 Accessed: 30/11/2010 19:58 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use, available at http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp. JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use provides, in part, that unless you have obtained prior permission, you may not download an entire issue of a journal or multiple copies of articles, and you may use content in the JSTOR archive only for your personal, non-commercial use. Please contact the publisher regarding any further use of this work. Publisher contact information may be obtained at http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=cic. Each copy of any part of a JSTOR transmission must contain the same copyright notice that appears on the screen or printed page of such transmission. JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org. Canadian International Councilis collaborating...
Words: 9239 - Pages: 37
...complex, shifting, and historic relations between these areas, as well as relations with other places such at the United Sates in more recent times, the history of Korea has been told in many ways and is still the subject of hot debate both inside and outside the Koreas. North and South Korea have different versions of the peninsula’s history, both of which differ in detail and perspective from histories written in China, Japan, Russia, and the USA. The following sections, which attempt to outline the history in a balanced way, are based on a variety of materials, including lectures attended in a special workshop on Korean culture at Korea University in the summer of 1997. Map of Korea The overall pattern of development in the history of the Korean peninsula is a process that begins with an unknown number of early tribal groups that populate the peninsula in prehistoric times, wandering out of Siberia and areas to the west. Over time, some of these groups form more complex societies that eventually result in early kingdoms that grow up on the peninsula; in some cases extending westwards into what is now Chinese territory. As time and events unfolded, these kingdoms were unified, though the borders and degree of unity have continued to change over time—down to today. Besides the obvious split between North and South Korea, cultural differences (including dialect, food, and local identity) exist between the various regions of the peninsula. In some cases these differences are enough...
Words: 13044 - Pages: 53
