U.S.

- North Korean Relations

Emmalee Wagner

Politics 2100-40

October 25th, 2018

 After the Korean War, diplomatic relations between North Korea and the United States

have been strained. Decades of strenuous diplomacy and conflicts finally led to a summit in 2018

between the heads of state. During this summit, a joint statement was signed, seeming to follow

more liberal ideas, but in order to see they are brought to fruition, both countries face hurdles

that mirror realists’ worldview.

Tensions between North Korea and the U.S. have been high for decades. After the

Second World War, Soviet Union troops occupied Korea above the 38th Parallel, while U.S.

troops occupied the south. The North Koreans’ attempt to unify the peninsula resulted in the

Korean War, in which the US military was heavily involved. The conflict “ended” with no

resolution and since then hostilities between the U.S. and North Korea have been a concern for

global safety. In the 1990s, it was discovered the North Koreans had developed nuclear weapons.

The United States and South Korean leaders were and continue to be, vehemently against a

nuclearized North Korea. Although South Korea does not have nuclear weapons, the United

States has many, which was no doubt an incentive based on a security dilemma for North Korea

to develop their nuclear arsenal.

Since the ‘60s there were minor conflicts between the US and North Korea. The “Pueblo

incident” where North Korea imprisoned the crew of a Navy intelligence vessel for 11 months,

or when Otto Wambier, an American student, was detained by North Korea in 2016 and died as a

result of the coma he fell into while imprisoned (Cerbin, 2018). North Korea displays anti-U.S.

propaganda throughout the country and has built an impressive military force. The authoritarian

leaders of North Korea, the late Kim Jong Il and his son and successor Kim Jong Un, have

constantly threatened to attack and go to war with the U.S. Authoritarian leaders use this tactic to

distract the citizens, and to continue building their militaries. During the Bush administration,
North Korea was taken off of the list of countries who are state sponsors of terrorism, but Trump

added them back in November 2017 (Shear, 2018). Throughout 2017 Trump was very vocal

about his distrust of North Korea and their military programs. There were threats from both

countries of a conflict on the horizon, and Trump and Kim exchanged heated insults via Twitter

(Cerbin, 2018). Yet throughout all the turmoil between states, a summit was set up in Singapore

between Trump and Kim, in which they signed the joint statement.

The summit in June was closely watched, especially since it had been canceled initially.

For the most part, it was fanfare between Trump and Kim. The two leaders signed the joint

statement and walked around the grounds of the building with their translators. Setting up and

following through on this historic summit was heavily influenced by liberal ideals and

philosophies; states are inclined to cooperation and prosper because of it (Goldstein &

Peverhouse, 2017).

Accomplishing everything from the joint statement will take immense cooperation from

both countries. A major roadblock to the success of the joint agreements is the lack of

international government system to hold North Korea accountable to their part of the agreement.

North Korea has broken several treaties before regarding their nuclear weapons. In the past,

liberal ideas like cooperation and treaties have not worked with North Korea. For instance, they

have yet to sign or ratify the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (Goldstein & Peverhouse, 2017).

In 2017, it is assumed they tested a hydrogen bomb. North Korea continues to keep its

sovereignty; dismissing any global agreements or treaties and liberal strategies. Even by

September, the North Korean Foreign Minister said the sanctions on their country from the

United States has diminished their level of trust, in turn leading them to halt denuclearization.

This could simply be an excuse to justify their disinterest in the joint statement. Kim Jong Il and
Kim Jong Un, having built and facilitated this nuclear program, something few states have

accomplished, is positive propaganda for the family’s regime and boosts Kim Jong Un’s power

via the support of the people. Another realists approach is simply their nuclear weapons are a

large deterrence and carry an aspect of mutually assured destruction towards the U.S.; getting rid

of them would leave them in a vulnerable state (“North Korea 'won't disarm if sanctions

continue', minister says”, 2018). Constructivism highlights the lack of shared values and positive

history between the United States and North Korea. These countries do not share similar cultures

or values, and to some extent, North and South Korea have different political values and global

outlooks as well. Lacking this base of fundamental pillars may slow down this process as these

countries do not find much in common. If North Korea does become denuclearized, the next step

would be to incorporate it into the global community. As a nation and economic market, it will

be difficult as it’s been incredibly isolated from the outside world; it may take years to integrate

themselves into a free trade, open market system. Determining what valuable commodities could

be exported and if the citizens can afford to buy imported foreign goods will also be important to

their success.

While both states are trying to implement liberal policies towards their interactions and

relationship, realist theories are more applicable to reality and the outcomes so far. In order to

follow through with the 2018 joint statement, both countries will have to continue to negotiate

and remain in good faith. While in the past, relations with North Korea have been tumultuous,

there is a possibility of a denuclearized North Korea and a stable relationship with the United

States.
 References

Cerbin, Carolynn M. (March 8, 2018). 5 things to know about the U.S.-North Korea relationship.

USA Today. Retrieved from

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2018/03/08/5-things-know-u-s-north-

korea-relationship/409329002/

Goldstein, J. & Peverhouse, J. (2017). International Relations. (Brief Seventh Edition). London,

England: Pearson Publishing.

“North Korea 'won't disarm if sanctions continue', minister says”. BBC. September 28, 2018.

Shear, Michael D.; Sanger, David E. (20 November 2017). "Trump Returns North Korea to List

of State Sponsors of Terrorism". The New York Times. Retrieved 21 November 2017.