I was at the White House yesterday for the State Arrival Ceremony of South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol to call on him and President Biden to de-escalate tensions and resume diplomacy with the goal of ending the Korean War.
Since it's creation, the goal of the North Korean regime has been to unite the peninsula under their rule. The conflict is persistent because that goal remains in place.
If I understand correctly, the current strategy of the North Koreans is to build up their arsenal so as to detach the US from South Korea. Their reasoning, which appears sound to me, seems to be that no US president is going to risk American cities to defend a far away nation most Americans probably can't find on a map. As example, consider the domestic controversy over recent American wars, where no such threat existed.
This analysis is obviously debatable. But if there is any truth in it, what do we expect the South Koreans to do? How are they to maintain deterrence, if it's true that they can't rely on American nukes once the North Koreans are in a position to hit American cities?
For future articles, I'd be very interested in your analysis of the relationship between China and North Korea. To what degree, if any, is North Korea a proxy for China?
Gonna share this!
Hi Colleen,
Since it's creation, the goal of the North Korean regime has been to unite the peninsula under their rule. The conflict is persistent because that goal remains in place.
If I understand correctly, the current strategy of the North Koreans is to build up their arsenal so as to detach the US from South Korea. Their reasoning, which appears sound to me, seems to be that no US president is going to risk American cities to defend a far away nation most Americans probably can't find on a map. As example, consider the domestic controversy over recent American wars, where no such threat existed.
This analysis is obviously debatable. But if there is any truth in it, what do we expect the South Koreans to do? How are they to maintain deterrence, if it's true that they can't rely on American nukes once the North Koreans are in a position to hit American cities?
For future articles, I'd be very interested in your analysis of the relationship between China and North Korea. To what degree, if any, is North Korea a proxy for China?
Thanks!