Summary
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) must go back to the Non-Proliferation Treaty by the pressure of the international community.
The Non-Proliferation Treaty of nuclear weapons (NPT) is a landmark international treaty which objective is to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons. The Nuclear Non-Proliferation regime includes the IAEA and its safeguards, the nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT), the UN Security Council enforcement powers, the Nuclear Suppliers Group, and the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT). North Korea was a member for years in the treaty. Its withdrawal was obvious and worrying by the international community.
China and North Korea have trade deals and China is one of the basic importers for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). China hosted the three-party talks between United States, North Korea, and China in 2003. China has made great efforts to try to persuade DPRK to give up its nuclear weapons option, but we can see that China is approaching the matter with discretion and some reserves. On the other side, DPRK leaders may have learned from incidents like the Iraq war and Libyan Civil War, that giving up nuclear weapons could lead to military invasion or regime collapse.
The DPRK supplied Pakistan with missile parts to build a nuclear arsenal, that would be able to reach every strategic site in India. In return, Pakistan provided the DPRK with many designs for gas centrifuges and the machinery it needs to make highly enriched uranium. In 2004, by Abdul Qadeer Khan accepted responsibility for leaking weapons secrets and equipment to North Korea, Iran, and Libya.
The treaty between President Biden with South Korea and Japan is one of the most important actions for the region. The nonproliferation talks should be taking place in high level and with a common movement from the three countries. They must add more missile defense systems like cyber operations, B-1 and B-2 bombers and add shorter range missile defense systems, like the Iron Dome in Israel, on the side of South Korea.
In my opinion another action that may take awareness into the situation is, if a common communication and common vote, with members of the UN Security Council, like Russia and China can bring back North Korea to the agreement of NPT. The United States may achieve this, if they put some economic sanctions to these countries in the case that North Korea doesn’t comply. The pressure should be in different parts and states to get into some agreement. No single state can solve the situation with the North Korean nuclear weapons. A collaboration of the UN Security Council, with Asian states like South Korea, Japan and other states in the area, may bring some resolution, to persuade North Korea to return to the agreement.
One reply on “THE DILEMMA OF NORTH KOREA”
Yota,
This is a good summary of the dilemma we face with North Korea. Having tested nuclear weapons six times now and having launched hundreds of missile tests (even though under sanction from the UN for this activity), there appears little that can be done to constrain the DPRK. A big part of the problem is that neither Russia nor China are prepared to reign in North Korea–and, of course, Russia is now buying munitions and ammunition from North Korea. The DPRK is expert at playing a weak hand very effectively, which they continue to do. –Professor Wallerstein