Abstract
U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, two unpredictable leaders who control weapons of mass destruction, have repeatedly exchanged personal insults and threatened nuclear war. Through the first year of the Trump presidency, they acted as though the world were zero-sum and their relations were a game of chicken. Surprisingly, given this context, in early 2018 both leaders indicated a willingness to meet to negotiate the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula. That meeting, which took place in Singapore in June 2018, produced broad promises to pursue peace and to work toward “complete denuclearization” of the Korean Peninsula, but no definitive end to the threat North Korea poses. This chapter focuses on the evolution of this ever-evolving nuclear crisis between North Korea and the United States. It begins by discussing the origins of Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons program and then turns to Washington’s diplomatic efforts to denuclearize the Korean peninsula. It then examines how the issue affects key actors in the region, including South Korea, Russia, Japan, and China in their relations with the United States. This chapter concludes by analyzing the approaches available to Washington in dealing with North Korea.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
Cited in Faith Karimi, “Trump sarcastically responds to Kim Jong Un insults,” CNN politics, November 13, 2017, http://www.cnn.com/2017/11/11/politics/north-korea-trump-asia-trip/index.html, accessed December 12, 2017, and Cristiano Lima, “Trump: North Korea’s Kim a ‘sick puppy’,” Politico, November 29, 2017, https://www.politico.com/story/2017/11/29/trump-north-korea-kim-jong-un-sick-puppy-270135, accessed December 12, 2017.
- 2.
Cited in Karimi, “Trump sarcastically responds to Kim Jong Un insults.”
- 3.
Cited in “North Korea ‘sentences Trump to death’ for insulting Kim Jong-un,” The Guardian, November 15, 2017, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/nov/15/north-korea-sentences-trump-to-death-for-insulting-kim-jong-un, accessed December 12, 2017.
- 4.
Cited in Lima, “Trump: North Korea’s Kim a ‘sick puppy’.”
- 5.
Cited in Joby Warrick, Ellen Nakashima and Anna Fifield, “North Korea now making missile-ready nuclear weapons, U.S. analysts say,” Washington Post, August 8, 2017, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/north-korea-now -making-missile-ready-nuclear-weapons-us-analysts-say/2017/08/08/e14b882a-7b6b-11e7-9d08-b79f191668ed_story.html?utm_term=.2364fcffed02, accessed December 13, 2017.
- 6.
Cited in John Wagner and Anna Fifield, “‘All options are on the table’ after North Korea launched missile over Japan,” Washington Post, August 29, 2017, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2017/08/29/trump-all-options-are-on-the-table-following-north-korea-missile-launch-over-japan/?utm_term=.e2c09fe069f6, accessed November 16, 2017.
- 7.
Cited in Motoko Rich, “In North Korea, ‘Surgical Strike’ Could Spin into ‘Worst Kind of Fighting’,” New York Times, July 5, 2017, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/05/world/asia/north-korea-south-us-nuclear-war.html, accessed December 1, 2017.
- 8.
See, for example, Anna Fifield, “Kim Jong Un wants to stay in power—and that is an argument against nuclear war,” Washington Post, August 10, 2017, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/kim-jong-un-wants-to-stay-in-power%2D%2Dand-that-is-an-argument-against-nuclear-war/2017/08/10/52b6ae7c-7d2e-11e7-b2b1-aeba62854dfa_story.html, accessed November 9, 2017, William J. Perry, “North Korea Called Me a ‘War Maniac.’ I Ignored Them, and Trump Should Too,” Politico Magazine, October 3, 2017, https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/10/03/north-korea-war-maniac-donald-trump-215672, accessed November 9, 2017, and Jack K. Warden, “North Korea’s Nuclear Posture: An Evolving Challenge for U.S. Deterrence,” Proliferation Papers, Ifri, March 2017, https://www.ifri.org/sites/default/files/atoms/files/warden_north_korea_nuclear_posture_2017.pdf, accessed December 31, 2017.
- 9.
Max Fisher, “North Korea’s Nuclear Arms Sustain Drive for ‘Final Victory’,” New York Times, July 29, 2017, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/29/world/asia/north-korea-nuclear-missile.html, accessed November 10, 2017.
- 10.
See, for example, Siegfried S. Hecker, “Time to insert the control rods on North Korea,” Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, October 17, 2017, https://thebulletin.org/time-insert-control-rods-north-korea11198, accessed November 9, 2017.
- 11.
Cited in Rich, “In North Korea, ‘Surgical Strike’ Could Spin into ‘Worst Kind of Fighting’.” Such a conflict might involve North Korea’s stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons, also considered weapons of mass destruction (WMD).
- 12.
Zachary Cohen, “The Last Resort: How a US Strike on North Korea Could Play Out,” CNN, August 11, 2017, http://www.cnn.com/2017/08/11/politics/us-north-korea-strike-first/index.html, accessed December 9, 2017. See also Franz-Stefan Gady, “What Would the Second Korean War Look Like?” The Diplomat, April 19, 2007, https://thediplomat.com/2017/04/what-would-the-second-korean-war-look-like.
- 13.
Chetan Peddada, “A Sneak Peek at America’s War Plans for North Korea,” Foreign Policy, September 7, 2017, http://foreignpolicy.com/2017/09/07/a-sneak-peak-at-americas-war-plans-for-north-korea, accessed December 28, 2017.
- 14.
Joseph S. Bermudez Jr., “North Korea’s Development of a Nuclear Weapons Strategy,” U.S.-Korea Institute at SAIS, 2015, http://www.38north.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/NKNF_Nuclear-Weapons-Strategy_Bermudez.pdf, 8, accessed December 20, 2017.
- 15.
Although U.S. nuclear weapons were withdrawn from South Korea by 1991, at present some South Koreans argue they should be redeployed there. Robert S. Norris, “A history of U.S. nuclear weapons in South Korea,” Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists 73:6 (2017), 349–357.
- 16.
Bermudez, “North Korea’s Development of a Nuclear Weapons Strategy,” 9.
- 17.
Ibid., 10.
- 18.
It is believed that the DPRK has between 2500 to 5000 tons of chemical weapons including sulfur mustard, chlorine, phosgene, sarin, and VX nerve agents as well as some biological weapons. Eleanor Albert, “North Korea’s Military Capabilities,” Council on Foreign Relations, updated November 30, 2017, https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/north-koreas-military-capabilities, 10, accessed, December 16, 2017.
- 19.
Bermudez, “North Korea’s Development of a Nuclear War Strategy,” 12–13.
- 20.
Victor Cha, “Countering the North Korean Threat,” Statement before the House Foreign Affairs Committee, February 7, 2017, http://docs.house.gov/meetings/FA/FA00/20170207/105527/HHRG-115-FA00-Wstate-ChaV-20170207.pdf, accessed December 31, 2017.
- 21.
Evans J. R. Revere, “2017: Year of Decision on the Korean Peninsula,” paper presented at the 5th Korea Research Institute for National Strategy-Brookings Institution Joint Conference on “The Trump Administration in the United States and the Future of East Asia and the Korean Peninsula,” February 8, 2017, https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/fp_20170208_evans_revere_krins.pdf, 3, accessed, December 21, 2017.
- 22.
Alexandre Y. Mansourov, “Kim Jong Un’s Nuclear Doctrine and Strategy: What Everyone Needs to Know,” NAPSNet Special Reports, December 16, 2014, https://nautilus.org/napsnet/napsnet-special-reports/kim-jong-uns-nuclear-doctrine-and-strategy-what-everyone-needs-to-know, accessed March 16, 2017.
- 23.
Albert, “North Korea’s Military Capabilities,” 10–12.
- 24.
With few internet links, North Korea is less vulnerable to cyberattack than either the United States or South Korea.
- 25.
Anthony H. Cordesman, The Military Balance in the Koreas and Northeast Asia (Washington, DC: Center for Strategic and International Studies, 2017), 130.
- 26.
See “China websites block searches for ‘Fatty Kim the Third’,” Reuters, November 16, 2016, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-northkorea-internet/china-websites-block-searches-for-fatty-kim-the-third-idUSKBN13B19C, accessed December 13, 2017.
- 27.
Warrick, Nakashima, and Fifield, “North Korea now making missile-ready nuclear weapons, U.S. analysts say.”
- 28.
For analysis of the evolution of the DPRK’s ballistic missile program, see Daniel Wertz, “North Korea’s Ballistic Missile Program,” The National Committee on North Korea, updated December 2017, https://www.ncnk.org/resources/briefing-papers/all-briefing-papers/north-koreas-ballistic-missile-program.
- 29.
Joseph S. Bermudez, Jr., “Underwater Test-fire of Korean-style Powerful Strategic Submarine Ballistic Missile,” 38 North, May 13, 2015, http://www.38north.org/2015/05/jbermudez051315/, accessed December 17, 2017.
- 30.
Albert, “North Korea’s Military Capabilities,” 2. Also Kathleen J. McInnis, et al., “The North Korean Nuclear Challenge: Military Options and Issues for Congress,” Congressional Research Service, November 6, 2017, 1, https://fas.org/sgp/crs/nuke/R44994.pdf, accessed December 27, 2017. See Anna Fifield, “North Korea Says It Can Fit Nuclear Warheads on Ballistic Missiles,” Washington Post, March 8, 2016, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/south-korea-imposes-new-sanctions-on-north-tells-pyongyang-it-must-change/2016/03/08/15b0d29e-490a-4697-9742-3c81dde5eb5f_story.html?utm_term=.8bf61da9ed28, accessed November 7, 2016.
- 31.
Cited in Choe Sang-Hun, “North Korea Won’t Stop Its Arms Tests Anytime Soon, South Warns,” New York Times, December 26, 2017, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/26/world/asia/north-korea-nuclear-missile-tests.html, accessed December 26, 2017.
- 32.
Cited in Adam Taylor and Tim Meko, “What made North Korea’s weapons programs so much scarier in 2017,” Washington Post, December 22, 2017, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2017/12/21/what-made-north-koreas-weapons-programs-so-much-scarier-in-2017/?utm_term=.bf5314588fcb, accessed December 22, 2017.
- 33.
Cited in ibid.
- 34.
Cited in Krishnadev Calamur, “How Did North Korea’s Missile and Nuclear Tech Get So Good So Fast?” The Atlantic, September 6, 2017, https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2017/09/north-korea-tech/538959/, accessed December 18, 2017.
- 35.
See Ellen Nakashima, Anna Fifield and Joby Warrick, “North Korea could cross ICBM threshold next year, U.S. officials warn in new assessment,” Washington Post, July 25, 2017, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/north-korea-could-cross-icbm-threshold-next-year-us-officials-warn-in-new-assessment/2017/07/25/4107dc4a-70af-11e7-8f39-eeb7d3a2d304_story.html?utm_term=.f7ae4c16acf8, accessed December 2, 2017.
- 36.
Justin McCurry and Julian Borger, “North Korea missile launch: regime says new rocket can hit anywhere in US,” The Guardian, November 29, 2017, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/nov/28/north-korea-has-fired-ballistic-missile-say-reports-in-south-korea, accessed December 13, 2017. See also Michael Elleman, “North Korea’s Third ICBM Launch,” 38 North, November 29, 2017, http://www.38north.org/2017/11/melleman112917/, accessed December 13, 2017.
- 37.
Cited in Josh Smith and Michelle Nichols, “U.S. warns North Korean leadership will be ‘utterly destroyed in case of war’,” Reuters, November 28, 2017, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-northkorea-missiles/u-s-warns-north-korean-leadership-will-be-utterly-destroyed-in-case-of-war-idUSKBN1DS2MB, accessed December 13, 2017.
- 38.
Cited in ibid.
- 39.
See Mark Seddon, “Have we got just three months to avert a US attack on North Korea?” The Guardian, December 4, 2017, https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/dec/04/three-months-avert-us-strike-north-korea-nuclear-missile-kim-jong-un, accessed December 25, 2017.
- 40.
Mike Mullen, Sam Nunn, Adam Mount, and Amy Schmemann, “A Sharper Choice on North Korea: Engaging China for a Stable Northeast Asia,” Council on Foreign Relations Independent Task Force Report No. 74, September 2016, https://www.cfr.org/sites/default/files/pdf/2016/09/TFR74_North%20Korea.pdf, accessed January 22, 2018.
- 41.
Fu Ying, The Korean Nuclear Issues: Past, Present, and Future – A Chinese Perspective Brookings Institution, May 2017, 1–2, https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/north-korean-nuclear-issue-fu-ying.pdf, accessed December 30, 2017.
- 42.
Ibid., 4, 8, 11.
- 43.
Ibid., 5–16. Fu Ying emphasizes that among the most important leadership shifts was that from President Bill Clinton to President George W. Bush in 2001 (6–8).
- 44.
Ibid., 10.
- 45.
Henry A. Kissinger, “North Korea’s Nuclear Program Cannot Be Stopped by America Alone,” Washington Post, June 8, 2009, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/07/AR2009060702097.html?hpid=opinionsbox1, accessed December 29, 2017.
- 46.
Samuel Ramani, “China’s Approach to North Korea Sanctions,” The Diplomat, January 10, 2018, https://thediplomat.com/2018/01/chinas-approach-to-north-korea-sanctions, accessed March 165, 2018.
- 47.
Simon Denyer, “China bans North Korean iron, lead, coal imports as part of U.N. sanctions,” Washington Post, August 14, 2017, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/china-bans-north-korea-iron-lead-coal-imports-as-part-of-un-sanctions/2017/08/14/a0ce4cb0-80ca-11e7-82a4-920da1aeb507_story.html?utm_term=.14357aaa1108, accessed December 29, 2017.
- 48.
Ramani, “China’s Approach to North Korea Sanctions.”
- 49.
Oriana Skylar Mastro, “Why China Won’t Rescue North Korea,” Foreign Affairs 97:1 (January/February 2018), 60. See also Oriana Skylar Mastro, “China’s Evolving North Korea Strategy,” Peace Brief, United State Institute for Peace (September 2017), https://www.usip.org/sites/default/files/PB231-Chinas-evolving-north-korea-strategy.pdf, accessed, December 31, 2017.
- 50.
Mastro, “Why China Won’t Rescue North Korea,” 64.
- 51.
Simon Denyer and Amanda Erickson, “Beijing Warns Pyongyang: You’re on your own if you go after the United States,” Washington Post, August 11, 2017, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/china-warns-north-korea-youre-on-your-own-if-you-go-after-the-us/2017/08/11/a01a4396-7e68-11e7-9026-4a0a64977c92_story.html?utm_term=.8bde7c4b86a0, accessed December 18, 2017.
- 52.
Carol Morello and Peter Whoriskey, “U.S. hits Chinese and Russian companies, individuals with sanctions for doing business with North Korea,” August 22, 2017, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/us-sanctions-chinese-and-russian-companies-and-individuals-for-conducting-business-with-north-korea/2017/08/22/78992312-8743-11e7-961d-2f373b3977ee_story.html, accessed December 30, 2017.
- 53.
Mullen, nunn, Mount, and Schmemann, “A Sharper Choice on North Korea: Engaging China for a Stable Northeast Asia.”
- 54.
Cited in David E. Sanger, “A Tillerson Slip Offers a Peek into Secret Planning on North Korea,” New York Times, December 17, 2017, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/17/us/politics/tillerson-north-korea-china.html, accessed December 18, 2017.
- 55.
Cited in ibid.
- 56.
Cited in “Trump, Putin Discuss North Korean Crisis While Voicing Mutual Praise,” Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, December 15, 2017, https://www.rferl.org/a/trump-putin-discuss-north-korean-crisis-while-voicing-mutual-thanks-praise/28919524.html, accessed December 18, 2017.
- 57.
Cited in “Trump Says ‘Russia Not Helping On North Korea; Russia Fires Back,” Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, December 16, 2017, https://www.rferl.org/a/trump-says-russia-not-helping-north-korea-russia-nebenzya-fires-back-tillerson-slave-labor/28921440.html, accessed December 22, 2017.
- 58.
Damien Sharkov, “Russia Activates Three New Antimissile Early-Warning Systems Near North Korea Border,” Newsweek, December 20, 2017, http://www.newsweek.com/russia-launches-three-new-anti-missile-early-warning-systems-within-range-753371, accessed December 22, 2017.
- 59.
Choe Sang-Hun, “Desolate Dots in the Sea Stir Deep Emotions as South Korea Resists a Japanese Claim,” New York Times, August 30, 2008, http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/31/world/asia/31islands.html?pagewanted=all, accessed December 26, 2017.
- 60.
Choe Sang-Hun, “Japan and South Korea Settle Dispute Over Wartime ‘Comfort Women’,” New York Times, December 28, 2015, https://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/29/world/asia/comfort-women-south-korea-japan.html, accessed December 26, 2017. Many Koreans and Japanese did not accept the reconciliation. See Jonathan Soble and Choe Sang-Hun, “South Korean and Japanese Leaders Feel Backlash From Comfort Women Deal,” New York Times, December 29, 2015, https://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/30/world/asia/south-korea-japan-comfort-women.html, accessed December 26, 2017, and Choe Sang-Hun, “Deal With Japan on Former Sex Slaves Failed Victims, South Korea Panel Says,” New York Times, December 27, 2017, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/27/world/asia/comfort-women-south-korea-japan.html, accessed on December 27, 2017.
- 61.
Michael Auslin, “A new era in South Korean-Japanese relations begins,” National Review Online, December 30, 2015, http://www.aei.org/publication/a-new-era-in-south-korean-japanese-relations-begins, accessed December 26, 2017.
- 62.
Nicholas Szechenyi, “Japan Has a Better Chance Tackling the North Korea Threat with Shinzo Abe,” Forbes, October 25, 2017, https://www.forbes.com/sites/insideasia/2017/10/25/japan-has-a-better-chance-tackling-the-north-korea-threat-with-shinzo-abe/#2bad40944d37, accessed December 26, 2017.
- 63.
Christine Kim and Eric Beech, “U.S. flies bombers over Korea as Trump discusses options,” Reuters, October 10, 2017, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-northkorea-missiles/u-s-flies-bombers-over-korea-as-trump-discusses-options-idUSKBN1CF368, accessed December 27, 2017.
- 64.
K. J. Kwon and Dugald McConnell, “South Korea, Japan to join U.S. for missile-defense exercise,” CNN, May 17, 2016, http://www.cnn.com/2016/05/16/asia/south-korea-japan-missile-defense-exercise/index.html, accessed December 27, 2017.
- 65.
Moon was elected South Korea’s president in May 2017 after the impeachment of President Park.
- 66.
Ian E. Rinehart, Steven A. Hildreth, and Susan V. Lawrence, “Ballistic Missile Defense in the Asia-Pacific Region: Cooperation and Opposition,” Congressional Research Service, April 3, 2015, 20. The U.S.-Japanese BMD system includes Aegis-equipped destroyers, Patriot batteries, early warning sensors, and advanced radars. https://fas.org/sgp/crs/nuke/R43116.pdf, accessed December 26, 2017.
- 67.
Clint Work, “The View From Seoul: Trump’s Visit and the ‘Illusion of Achievement’,” The Diplomat, November 10, 2017, https://thediplomat.com/2017/11/the-view-from-seoul-trumps-visit-and-the-illusion-of-achievement/, accessed December 26, 2017.
- 68.
Victor Cha, “A Path Less Chosun,” Foreign Affairs, October 8, 2015, https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/china/2015-10-08/path-less-chosun, accessed December 10, 2017.
- 69.
Ibid. Thereafter, Chinese-Korean relations were roiled by Beijing’s opposition to the installation of THAAD in South Korea, but after a chill in relations China’s President Xi renewed the thaw in their relationship.
- 70.
North Korea’s nuclear program in joint statement,” United Press International, September 2, 2015, https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2015/09/02/South-Korea-China-oppose-North-Koreas-nuclear-program-in-joint-statement/7331441208150/, accessed December 10, 2017.
- 71.
See Michael Paul and Elisabeth Suh, “North Korea’s Nuclear Missiles: Options for the US and its Allies in the Asia-Pacific,” SWP Comments, German Institute for International and Security Affairs, August 2017, https://www.swp-berlin.org/fileadmin/contents/products/comments/2017C32_pau_suh.pdf, accessed December 31, 2017.
- 72.
Revere, “2017: Year of Decision on the Korean Peninsula,” 1, 2.
- 73.
Most recently during the Obama and Trump administrations, Congress expanded U.S. sanctions to encompass North Korean economic activities, including trade and financial ties between Pyongyang and third countries.
- 74.
Cited in Carol Morello, “U.N. imposes new sanctions on North Korea over missile tests,” Washington Post, December 22, 2017, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/un-imposes-new-sanctions-on-north-korea-over-missile-tests/2017/12/22/0929b926-e74a-11e7-a65d-1ac0fd7f097e_story.html?utm_term=.020d38cbca81, accessed December 23, 2017.
- 75.
See Atsuhito Isozaki, “Understanding the North Korean Regime,” Wilson Center (April 2017), 35–36, https://www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/ap_understandingthenorthkoreanregime.pdf, accessed December 30, 2017. The author emphasizes the impact that Libya’s surrender of nuclear weapons and NATO’s attack in 2011 had on Pyongyang’s determination to retain WMD.
- 76.
Rick Gladstone, “Proposed U.N. Resolution Would Toughen Sanctions on North Korea,” New York Times, December 21, 2017, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/21/world/asia/us-un-north-korea-sanctions.html, accessed December 22, 2017.
- 77.
In December 2017, South Korea seized two Hong Kong-flagged vessels that may have transferred oil to North Korean ships. Choe Sang-Hun, “Kim Jong-un’s Overture Could Drive a Wedge Between the South Korea and the U.S.” Russian tankers have done the same. Guy Faulconbridge, Jonathan Saul, Polina Nikolskaya, “Exclusive: Russian tankers fueled North Korea via tankers at sea – sources,” Reuters, December 29, 2017, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-northkorea-missiles-russia-oil-exclus/exclusive-russian-tankers-fueled-north-korea-via-transfers-at-sea-sources-idUSKBN1EN1OJ, accessed January 6, 2018.
- 78.
Rick Gladstone and David E. Sanger, “Security Council Tightens Economic Vise on North Korea, Blocking Fuel, Ships and Workers,” New York Times, December 22, 2017, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/22/world/asia/north-korea-security-council-nuclear-missile-sanctions.html, accessed December 22, 2017.
- 79.
Cited in ibid.
- 80.
Cited in Russell Goldman, “North Korea Calls U.N. Sanctions an ‘Act of War’,” New York Times, December 24, 2017, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/24/world/asia/north-korea-un-sanctions.html, accessed December 24, 2017.
- 81.
Cited in David Ignatius, “What North Korea told a U.N. envoy trying to prevent war,”Washington Post, December 19, 2017, https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/global-opinions/what-north-korea-told-a-un-envoy-trying-to-prevent-war/2017/12/19/2cdef370-e50d-11e7-av50-621fe0588340_story.html?utm_term=9c2a839153cf&wpisrc=nl_todayworld&wpmm=1, accessed December 20, 2017.
- 82.
Cited in Steve Holland, Christine Kim, “U.S. imposes more North Korea sanctions, Trump warns of ‘phase two’,” Reuters, February 23, 2018, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-northkorea-missiles-trump/u-s-imposes-more-north-korea-sanctions-trump-warns-of-phase-two-idUSKCN1G71RD, accessed March 16, 2018.
- 83.
Ibid.
- 84.
Kissinger, “North Korea’s Nuclear Program Cannot Be Stopped by America Alone.”
- 85.
Office of the Spokesperson, “Joint Statement by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Secretary of Defense James Mattis, Director of National Intelligences Dan Coats,” U.S. Department of State, April 2017, https://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2017/04/270464.htm.
- 86.
Mullen, Nunn, Mount, and Schmemann, “A Sharper Choice on North Korea: Engaging China for a Stable Northeast Asia,” 12. See “Figure 1. North Korea’s Cycles of Provocation,” in ibid., 13.
- 87.
See former Secretary of Defense William Perry’s comments in William D. Shear and Michael R. Gordon, “How U.S. Military Actions Could Play Out in North Korea,” New York Times, August 11, 2017, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/11/world/asia/north-korea-trump-military.html, accessed December 29, 2017, and Scott Stossel, “North Korea: The War Game,” The Atlantic (July/August 2005), https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2005/07/north-korea-the-war-game/304029, accessed March 14, 2019.
- 88.
Clinton issued an executive agreement, thereby avoiding a fight in the United States about ratifying a formal treaty, and the agreement was facilitated by former President Jimmy Carter who traveled to Pyongyang as a private citizen.
- 89.
See Mark E. Manyin and Mary Beth D. Nikitin, “Foreign Assistance to North Korea,” Congressional Reference Service, April 2, 2014, https://fas.org/sgp/crs/row/R40095.pdf, accessed December 31, 2017.
- 90.
David E. Sanger, “North Korea Says It Has a Program on Nuclear Arms,” New York Times, October 17, 2002, http://www.nytimes.com/2002/10/17/world/north-korea-says-it-has-a-program-on-nuclear-arms.html, accessed December 29, 2017.
- 91.
Glenn Kessler, “History lesson: Why did Bill Clinton’s North Korean deal fail?” Washington Post, August 9, 2017, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2017/08/09/history-lesson-why-did-bill-clintons-north-korea-deal-fail/?utm_term=.3549f42daa92, accessed December 29, 2017, and Maria Ryan, “Why America’s 1994 deal with North Korea failed – and what Trump can learn from it,” Independent, August 4, 2017, http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/north-korea-missile-test-us-1994-agreed-framework-pyongyang-programme-kim-jong-un-donald-trump-a7876446.html, accessed December 29, 2017.
- 92.
This discussion is based partly on Jayshree Bajoria and Beina Xu, “The Six Party Talks on North Korea’s Nuclear Program,” Council on Foreign Relations, Updated September 30, 2013, https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/six-party-talks-north-koreas-nuclear-program, accessed December 27, 2017, and “The Six-Party Talks at a Glance,” Arms Control Association, updated July 2017, https://www.armscontrol.org/factsheets/6partytalks, accessed December 17, 2017.
- 93.
Bajoria and Xu, “The Six Party Talks on North Korea’s Nuclear Program.”
- 94.
Despite the agreement North Korea is till suspected of sending nuclear weapons and military technology to countries like Iran and Syria for hard currency and to obtain their technologies.
- 95.
Cited in Somini Sengupta, “Tillerson, in Apparent U-Turn, Says North Korea Must ’Earn’ Its Way to Talks,” December 15, 2017, New York Times,https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/15/world/asia/tillerson-north-korea.html, accessed December 16, 2017.
- 96.
Cited in Ignatius, “What North Korea told a U.N. envoy trying to prevent war.”
- 97.
Choe Sang-Hun, “Kim Jong-un’s Overture Could Drive a Wedge Between South Korea and the U.S.,” New York Times, January 1, 2018, https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/01/world/asia/kim-jong-un-offer-talks-south-korea-and-us.html, accessed January 1, 2018, and Choe Sang-Hun, “Kim Jong-un Offers North Korea’s Hand to South, While Chiding U.S.,” New York Times, December 31, 2017, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/31/world/asia/north-korea-kim-jong-un-olympics.html, accessed, January 1, 2018.
- 98.
Choe Sang-Hun, “North Korea Opens Border Hotline with South,” New York Times, January 3, 2018, https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/03/world/asia/north-korea-hotline-south.html, accessed January 3, 2018.
- 99.
Cited in Peter Baker and Michael Tackett, “Trump Says His ‘Nuclear Button’ Is ‘Much Bigger’ Than North Korea’s,” New York Times, January 2, 2018, https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/02/us/politics/trump-tweet-north-korea.html, accessed January 2, 2018.
- 100.
Cited in Kimiko de Freytas-Tamura, “Days After Hawaii’s False Missile Alarm, a New One in Japan,” New York Times, January 16, 2018, https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/16/world/asia/japan-hawaii-alert.html, accessed January 16, 2018.
- 101.
Choe Sang-Hun, “South Korea’s Leader Credits Trump for North Korea Talks,” New York Times, January 10, 2018, https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/10/world/asia/moon-jae-in-trump-north-korea.html, accessed January 10, 2018. Trump has taken credit for restarting talks, and Moon was almost certainly stroking his ego.
- 102.
Cited in Carol Morello, “North Korean nuclear weapons crisis at a ‘tenuous stage’, Tillerson says,” Washington Post, January 16, 2018,” https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/tillerson-opens-summit-with-a-vow-to-keep-up-pressure-on-north-korea/2018/01/16/b04bbac8-d95b-4115-97ed-9ed7b451cda3_story.html?tid=pm_world_pop&utm_term=.de8dd6823f44&wpisrc=nl_daily202&wpmm=1, accessed January 17, 2018.
- 103.
John Bowden, “Pompeo taking lead role in planning Trump’s North Korea meeting: report,” The Hill, March 17, 2018, http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/378917-pompeo-taking-lead-role-in-negotiating-trumps-north-korea-meeting, accessed March 20, 2018.
- 104.
Cited in Navid Nakamura, “No location, no agenda: Trump administration scrambles for North Korea talks,” Washington Post, March 19, 2018, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/no-location-no-agenda-trump-administration-scrambles-for-north-korea-talks/2018/03/19/615453b8-2895-11e8-874b-d517e912f125_story.html?utm_term=.b6225685f17b, accessed March 20, 2018. Cha had been named Trump’s ambassador to South Korea in 2017, but was withdrawn following a policy dispute over North Korea.
- 105.
Cited in Emily Ruahala and Anna Fifield, “Kim-Xi meeting presents a new challenge for Trump on North Korea,” Washington Post, March 28, 2018, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/kim-xi-meeting-presents-a-new-challenge-for-trump-on-north-korea/2018/03/28/55e7e8a6-31f9-11e8-b6bd-0084a1666987_story.html?utm_term=.f9fe24a7ec65, accessed March 28, 2018.
- 106.
Ibid.
- 107.
Cited in Rick Noack, “How Kim-Trump tensions escalated: The more the U.S. said ‘Libya’, the angrier North Korea got,” Washington Post, May 24, 2018, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/world/wp/2018/05/24/the-more-pence-and-trump-say-libya-the-angrier-north-korea-gets, accessed June 13, 2018.
- 108.
Ibid.
- 109.
Cited in Peter Baker and Choe Sang-Hun, “Trump Sees End to North Korea Nuclear Threat Despite Unclear Path,” New York Times, June 13, 2018, https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/13/us/politics/trump-north-korea-denuclearization.html, accessed June 14, 2018.
- 110.
Karen DeYoung and John Wagner, “Trump and Kim declare summit a big success, but they diverge on the details,” New York Times, June 13, 2018, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-says-korth-korea-no-longer-a-nuclear-threat-as-he-returns-to-washington/2018/06/13/b1d69566-6ef0-11e8-bf86-a2351b5ece99_story.html?utm_term=.1c1caa5bab4c, accessed June 14, 2018.
- 111.
Joby Warrick, “North Korea’s Dispersed and Hidden Weapons Complex Highlight the Challenge of Denuclearization,” Washington Post, June 13, 2018, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/north-koreas-dispersed-and-hidden-weapons-complex-highlights-the-challenge-of-denuclearization/2018/06/13/2ed6486c-6f47-11e8-bf86-a2351b5ece99_story.html?utm_term=.a10298563dbe, accessed June 14, 2018.
- 112.
Motoko Rich, “Trump-Kim Summit Creates New Anxieties for Asian Allies,” New York Times, June 13, 2018, https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/13/world/asia/trump-kim-summit-asian-allies.html, accessed June 13, 2018.
- 113.
Cited in Adam Taylor, “Pompeo was grilled by reporters about North Korea’s nukes. This was his testy response,” Washington Post, June 13, 2018, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2018/06/13/pompeo-was-grilled-by-reporters-about-north-koreas-nukes-this-was-his-testy-response/?utm_term=.d3edb513becf, accessed June 14, 2018.
- 114.
Harry J. Kazianis, “The Case for Containing North Korea, The National Interest, October 15, 2017, http://nationalinterest.org/feature/the-case-containing-north-korea-22727, accessed December 31, 2017. For analysis of the DPRK’s motives, see Denny Roy, “Misunderstanding North Korea,” Asia Pacific Issues, East-West Center, No. 133 (August 2017), https://www.eastwestcenter.org/system/tdf/private/api133.pdf?file=1&type=node&id=36236, accessed December 31, 2017.
- 115.
Stephanie Condon, “Donald Trump: Japan, South Korea might need nuclear weapons,” CBS News, March 29, 2016, https://www.cbsnews.com/news/donald-trump-japan-south-korea-might-need-nuclear-weapons/ accessed December 21, 2017.
- 116.
Cited in Stephen Evans, “How might Donald Trump deal with North Korea’s Kim Jong-un?” BBC News, November 11, 2016, http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-37932923, accessed December 21, 2017.
- 117.
Cited in Julian Borger, “Donald Trump: I’d be honored to meet Kim Jong-un under ‘right circumstances,” The Guardian, May 1, 2017, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/may/01/donald-trump-kim-jong-un-meeting-north-korea, accessed December 21, 2017.
- 118.
Rebecca Lai, William J. Broad, and David E. Sanger, “North Korea is Firing Up a Reactor. That Could Upset Trump’s Talks With Kim,” New York Times, March 27, 2018, https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/03/27/world/asia/north-korea-nuclear.html, accessed March 28, 2018.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Mansbach, R.W., Taylor, K.L. (2019). The North Korean Crisis: Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and the Threat of Nuclear War. In: Yu, FL.T., Kwan, D.S. (eds) Contemporary Issues in International Political Economy. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-6462-4_6
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-6462-4_6
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore
Print ISBN: 978-981-13-6461-7
Online ISBN: 978-981-13-6462-4
eBook Packages: Political Science and International StudiesPolitical Science and International Studies (R0)