North Korea in the 21st Century. Principled Engagement by an Unlikely Coalition
Abstract
As the United States (US) prosecutes the war on terror, the last vestige of the Cold War approaches its 50th anniversary. On July 27, 1953, the forces of South Korea (backed by the US and the United Nations (UN)) and North Korea (backed by China and Russia) signed an armistice agreement creating a shaky truce on the Korean peninsula. The dynamic global change since 1953 is breathtaking - the Soviet Union collapsed, China emerged as a quasimarket based regional power, Germany re-unified, and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) expanded. Juxtaposed is the static situation on the peninsula, where a large armed force remains on both sides of the demilitarized zone (DMZ) waiting for the other to attack. The purpose of this paper is to consider the strategic environment prevalent on the Korean Peninsula today and to advocate a US National Security Strategy. This strategy will contemplate US objectives for the Korean peninsula within the context of regional stability and apply the appropriate instruments of national security strategy, consistent with existing domestic and international constraints. This paper will also consider a contingency military strategy that would be applied if the advocated strategy failed and North Korea initiated hostilities.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 2003
- Accession Number
- ADA442596
Entities
People
- Donald P. Dunbar
Organizations
- National War College