1st Edition

North Korea's Foreign Policy under Kim Jong Il New Perspectives

Edited By Tae-Hwan Kwak, Seung-Ho Joo Copyright 2009

    The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) joined the rank of nuclear powers in October 2006 after exploding its first nuclear device. The test was not fully successful yet it unequivocally demonstrated North Korea's nuclear weapons capability. North Korea under the leadership of Kim Jong-il remains as unpredictable and mysterious as ever. This comprehensive study brings together leading scholars in the field to examine the country's current foreign policy under Kim Jong-il as well as its bilateral relations with the USA, China, Russia, Japan and South Korea.

    Contents: Introduction, Tae-Hwan Kwak and Seung-Ho Joo; Juche's role in North Korea's foreign policy, C. Kenneth Quinones; Assessing North Korea's strategic intentions and motivations, Scott Snyder; North Korea's negotiating position during 15 years of chronic crisis: continuities and discontinuities, Curtis H. Martin; Kim Jong Il and denuclearization of the Korean peninsula, Ilsu Kim; DPRK WMD programs, Daniel A. Pinkston; North Korea and the Korean peninsula peace regime-building initiative, Tae-Hwan Kwak; North Korean policy toward the United States: Pyongyang copes with an evolving US context, Edward A. Olsen; North Korea's China policy, Ming Lee; North Korean policy toward Russia, Seung-Ho Joo; The DPRK's diplomatic normalization with Japan, Yoshinori Kaseda; North Korea's national strategy toward the South after the June 15 Joint Declaration: a strategy of national cooperation, Moo-Jin Yang; Summary and conclusion, Tae-Hwan Kwak and Seung-Ho Joo; Index.

    Biography

    Seung-Ho Joo

    'North Korea has been one of the world's most enduring security challenges and understanding the motivations and actions of the Kim Jong-il regime is crucial to successfully managing relations with the North. This book gathers some of the finest scholars on North Korea for an outstanding examination of North Korean foreign policy and its relations with others in the region.' Terence Roehrig, US Naval War College, USA