Nuclear Proliferation and Tension on the Korean Peninsula

The northern border is known as the DMZ (demilitarized zone) it is the most heavily armed border in the world. At 2.5 miles wide and 150-miles long the heavily mined and guarded area has served as a buffer zone since the cease fire in 1953.(3) The united States helps to guard the DMZ and protect the ROK with approximately 30,000 troops and an arsenal of military equipment. The country of South Korea is unable to maintain their own Nuclear weapons and relies on the US Militaries nuclear weapons program to match North Koreas Nuclear weapons program. Although the ROK army is well equipped and well trained it lacks the sheer numbers and nuclear capabilities to match North Korea. Therefore the ROK relies heavily on the United States military assistance. However with the ROK’s consistent progression and strong economy it’s only a matter of time before the ROK will no longer need the help of the USA. (4)

North Korea, formally known as the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a relic of the Cold War and the world’s last remaining totalitarian Stalinist dictatorship. Arguably the most secretive state in the world, North Korea poses a unique set of challenges to the world, especially to its democratic and capitalist neighbor, South Korea, formally known as the Republic of Korea (ROK). As one of the last remnants of the Cold War era, North Korea remains an anomaly of the international system due to its unpredictable nature and disregard for international norms. With the recent bombardment of the South Korean Island of Yeongpyong and the sinking of the warship Cheonan, tensions between the two Koreas are at the lowest point since

The Second option when dealing with this threat would organizing talks among many of the world powers and countries within East Asia in order to develop a bilateral solution to dealing with Korea. At this time it is evident the North Korea’s biggest ally,China has been distancing themselves either through heavy sanctions giving the U.S a window of opportunity where China may use its influence to force change in North Korea, if not to at least working towards other nations to form a solution.This solution lends to many problematic outcomes with the first being a non-guarantee in terms of reaching an agreement which looking at previous talks would be highly probable causing immense setbacks. Additionally agreeing to bilateral talks may put the United States in a position where heavy comprise may be necessary creating an agreement that does not fulfill our agenda to the fullest and may create an imagine where the U.S is seen as a subordinate.

In the later fifties, the fear of the cold war and the use of nuclear weapons were still a common factor in America. With the rise of the space race, the fear of a nuclear attack increased throughout the states. Many Americans wonder if these nuclear tensions could have been avoided by President Kennedy. Regardless, these flare ups of tension continued to occur throughout his presidency.

Since the end of the Korean War, the DMZ (de-militarized zone) has been maintained. The U.S. has 45,000 troops stationed in South Korea. Today, North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong Il is trying to complete his goal of having nuclear weapons that he can launch into South Korea, Japan, or even the U.S. The U.S. is trying to get China, North Korea’s biggest trading partner and ally, to stop Kim Jong Il’s nuclear aggression. Japan and South Korea are two of America’s closest allies, and any attack on either of those countries will be perceived as an attack on the U.S., so our diplomas are working hard to avoid nuclear war, which could kill millions of

In Korea, the U.S. found itself unprepared to fight a conventional war having put far too much stock and time into the creation of nuclear weapons. Up to that point, two dominant views had prevailed in the U.S in regards to the future of war. One view held that the threat of a nuclear war would abolish warfare altogether through mutually assured destruction while the other reaction was that any new war would be a nuclear one and would lead to the destruction of the human race. The Korean war illustrated to Americans their previous miscalculations regarding the new face of war and also affirmed their fears of an inhuman and cruel communist enemy. It drew the Americans attention to the Soviet-Chinese-Korean effort that seemed to signal the drive

The purpose of this whitepaper is to develop a strategic plan that addresses the challenge articulated within the Air War College Warfighting Op Ed article, “U.S. Moves Missile Destroyers Near Korea -- Seoul Raises Tone; Washington Points To Need to Avoid Unilateral Action.” (Barnes, 2013) The Op Ed article summarized the policy intentions of the U.S related actions around the Korean Peninsula as North Korea increasing their provocative rhetoric and actions against its southern neighbor – South Korea. This author believes that the underlining problem highlighted in the article and ultimately the root cause of the crisis – North Korea’s strategy to keep itself relevant while it develops a Nuclear Deterrent. Within this paper, This

In dealing with North Korea, there are no good options. Pyongyang has been working decisively towards building a nuclear arsenal for years now. Washington, DC has been working just as decisively towards preventing this nuclear arsenal from piling for just as many years, trying to control North Korea by issuing threats (of conducting future military exercises and preparing future economic sanctions) and side-eyeing China. Rinse and repeat. American policy towards North Korea can be summed up nicely with one of President Donald Trump’s many menacing Tweets about the country. This was sent out on April 11, 2017: “North Korea is looking for trouble. If China decides to help, that would be great. If not, we will solve the problem without them! U.S.A.”

Prior to the outbreak of the Korean war, US secretary of state Dean Acheson, declared that the US had no interest in Korea as it had no geopolitical significance. Korea having been divided after WWII as a result of Japanese occupation, was occupied in the northern half by Chinese communist forces. Following Acheson 's decleration that the US did not posess interest in the Korean pennisnular, the North Korean Communist government in Pyongyang orchestrated an attack on Southen Korea. North Korean forces, backed by the Soviet Union, outgunned the weaker and ill prepared South Korea, pushing them to retreat to the city of Pusan on the southern shore of the Korean peninsular within a few months. In response to this attack the United Nations Security Council condemned the attack as a breach of peace, subsequently the United Nations called on all of the nations to intervene to restore peace to the region. In line with the Truman Doctrine, which called for the defence of nations whose independence is threatened. At the time both concervative and liberal policy makers decided that the Soviet push into Southern Korea was threatening to spread communism as well as great threat to American efforts to democratise Japan. The US government feared that if the Soviet Union was not halted in their expansion that there would be a threat to American democracy. In order to combat this growing threat the National Security Council Paper NSC-68, a top secret paper sought to outline the US foreign

It's a device more powerful than any the country has tested before and the move threatens to undermine an already fragile security situation in the region. How will the latest move by Kim Jong Un, North Korea's young and unpredictable leader, play out?

sent B-2 and B-52 bombers able to carry nuclear weapons to South Korea during the current crisis to calm our ally's growing security concerns while telegraphing a warning to the North. Whether such an approach will remain effective in the future is unclear. Washington's moment of truth may come if North Korea develops nuclear-armed missiles able to reach the United States and South Koreans ask themselves whether the U.S. will risk sacrificing Los Angeles to protect Seoul. Many South Koreans doubt American reliability even today, despite 50 years of alliance. And some cite the distressing example of Washington pulling out of Vietnam during the 1970s. With confidence in U.S. security guarantees already in question, an emboldened Pyongyang could erode that confidence even further. Fourth is an increased risk of war by miscalculation . Pyongyang may believe that its nuclear arsenal gives it more freedom to conduct limited military provocations such as the 2010 sinking of a South Korean ship and artillery attack on the South's Yeonpyeong Island without reprisal. That was true then, although Washington seems to have restrained the South from launching a serious military response to those actions for fear of triggering a second Korean war. However, now Seoul is working with the U.S. on a new proactive

North Korea wants a nuclear arsenal to defend itself and to destroy countries that it finds unfavorable. Unfortunately, for North Korea, they have fallen under the ever-powerful eye of the international community, who have acted with the implementation of sanctions. These sanctions, though, are not affecting the efforts of North Korea, as the government does not care for their starving population and their crippled economy. If North Korea is not stopped now then nothing may happen and there may even be peace, unlikely as it is. On the other hand, the United States may soon be in yet another war, which may, for the first time in history, become a nuclear war. One thing is clear, the small state of North Korea may pose a big threat to our life, liberty, and pursuit of

Economist, America and China have agreed to work together to eliminate the threat of a nuclear North Korea. China and America have agreed to sanction that would have restrictions on the financial assistance to North Korea. However, even if tougher sanctions are enforced by the United States and China, this may not work to stop North Korea's ever growing nuclear program which may lead to the

     I think there are many things that the United States has to do in order to resolve the problems that are occurring and to prevent more problems from happening in the future. The first thing that I think the United States should do is to treat them as nicely as possible, even if it means going against what we believe and letting them get away with bad behavior. In the long run it might be a bad thing to do because it could influence other nations to think that they can walk over us and take advantage of us. However, I think it would be the correct thing to do right now because the last thing anyone wants is a nation that is angry with you that holds nuclear weapons. If, however, North Korea refuses to accept our proposal for negotiations and does not agree with anything that we have to offer, I think the only other option is to attack them with

adding these precautions in response to the proliferation of both countries nuclear munitions, there have been countless false alarms that had the potential to start a full-scale nuclear war. There have been countless false alarms by both countries since the Cold War began, many of which only a fraction of are reported, with the rest unreported or hidden in classified records. Due to the nature of the dilemma, most ordinary citizens lead their lives simply unaware of an oncoming nuclear threat. What would happen if sometime in the near future, if a nuclear war were inevitable because of a miscommunication or an unintentional launch of a nuclear missile? With taking all of these things into consideration, countries such as the U.S. maybe frightened with North Korea’s fourth nuclear test done by the DPRK in January 2016 (O’Neil 103). Some people may question the significance of the test with North Korea threatening to bomb the U.S. before and without showing any evidence pointing towards the country letting up with its weapons program.