Research Focus
Rapidly changing circumstances continue to shape relations on the Korean peninsula and in East Asia. The constant flux of political, social, and economic affairs in the region has also created difficulties for long-standing alliances. The Reengaging North Korea research project examines the interests and policy environments of South Korea, North Korea, and their neighbors. It addresses issues including the North Korean nuclear problem, U.S.-DPRK relations, the U.S.-ROK alliance, the rise of China, and Korean reunification. It builds upon the first phase of this research effort, Engaging North Korea.
In its new phase, the project’s primary goal is to better understand the future domestic and global implications of North Korea’s political circumstances and social conditions given recent developments and the apparent detente on and around the Korean peninsula. Of particular importance in this context are seemingly improved inter-Korean relations, North Korea’s supposed commitment to denuclearization, and the new challenges that the U.S.-ROK alliance faces in coordinating a North Korea policy that is agreeable to both countries and to the conditions of the alliance.
The North Korea we are dealing with today—however amiable it may seem toward its neighbors and sincere in its commitment to denuclearize—is no longer a country with nuclear ambitions, but rather a de facto nuclear power with weaponry as well as the techniques and manpower required to assemble new weapons at any time. This makes the international community’s long-held aspiration for “complete, verifiable, and irreversible denuclearization” on the part of North Korea a highly unrealistic goal. The long-term objective for the Korea problem should instead be to transform North Korea into a normal state that no longer sees the need to pursue nuclearization for deterrence, survival, or any other reason. This research effort therefore investigates ways to promote sustainable reengagement of the North by all countries involved, especially by South Korea.
