November 27th, 2018

International Relations - Signature Assignment Reflection

In order to complete this paper, I first began by researching the historical background of

North Korea in the 20th century, with an emphasis on its relation to the West and the United

States. While this paper was on the current relations between North Korea and the U.S.,

understanding the history between the two countries was important. Then I read a handful of

current news articles discussing the events leading up to the summit in 2018. Once I felt I had a

solid understanding of both historical and current relations, I applied theories from class and the

textbook to why there is heightened tension and mistrust between the two countries and why

many steps that have already been taken have not worked successfully

Although I did not elaborate on this aspect in my paper, the closed economy of Noth

Korea will be a hindrance to the country to evolve into the global market if it reaches that point.

Economists, especially in the field of macroeconomics, would be interested in the integration of

North Korea, as they have been with other countries, like post-communist countries that evolved

into the open free market economies.

Regarding this class overall, I have been enlightened to all the complexities of

international politics and the various facets and aspects of intra-country relations. I knew there

are issues between North Korea and the United States, but I had not anticipated finding so many

layers to those issues. I had also never considered the previous global efforts to denuclearize

North Korea or the difficulty the country will face if it joins the open market.