U.S. FOREIGN POLICY IN RELATION TO NORTH KOREA
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Authors
Foster, Brandi D.
Subjects
Complete
verifiable
and irreversible dismantlement
CVID
complete
verifiable
and irreversible dismantlement
DPRK
Democratic People’s Republic of Korea
IAEA
International Atomic Energy Association
ICBM
Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles
NPT
Non-proliferation of Nuclear Weapons Treaty
PRC
People's Republic of China
ROK
Republic of Korea
THAAD
Terminal High Altitude Area Defense
UNSC
United Nations Security Council
UNSCR
United Nations Security Council Resolutions
verifiable
and irreversible dismantlement
CVID
complete
verifiable
and irreversible dismantlement
DPRK
Democratic People’s Republic of Korea
IAEA
International Atomic Energy Association
ICBM
Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles
NPT
Non-proliferation of Nuclear Weapons Treaty
PRC
People's Republic of China
ROK
Republic of Korea
THAAD
Terminal High Altitude Area Defense
UNSC
United Nations Security Council
UNSCR
United Nations Security Council Resolutions
Advisors
Meyskens, Covell F.
Date of Issue
2020-06
Date
Publisher
Monterey, CA; Naval Postgraduate School
Language
Abstract
This thesis examines the main drivers of U.S. policy toward North Korea’s nuclear weapons program from 1992 until the present. The thesis has found that there were four main drivers of American policy toward North Korea during each presidential administration examined. The United States’ regional allies—Japan and South Korea—have been concerned about the threats posed by North Korea’s nuclear weapons program, and they have made several attempts to negotiate the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula in the conjunction with the United States. Allies’ concerns about a potential conflict, however, have led them to call on the United States to show restraint in the use of military force and economic pressure toward North Korea. China’s economic leverage over the DPRK and Beijing’s insistence on preventing the United States from imposing harsher economic sanctions on North Korea presented challenges throughout the presidential administrations. North Korea’s insistence on furthering its nuclear weapons program by continuing to defy the international order presents difficulties for the United States to achieve the goal of a nuclear-free Korean peninsula. This thesis provides two future policy recommendations for the United States to engage with North Korea—adopt either an option of appeasement that centers on diplomacy or an option of pressure that relies on a combination of coercive strategies to successfully achieve the goal of a nuclear-free Korean peninsula.
Type
Thesis
Description
Series/Report No
Department
National Security Affairs (NSA)
Organization
Identifiers
NPS Report Number
Sponsors
Funder
Format
Citation
Distribution Statement
Approved for public release. distribution is unlimited
Rights
This publication is a work of the U.S. Government as defined in Title 17, United States Code, Section 101. Copyright protection is not available for this work in the United States.