North Korea's Nuclear Weapon Program: A Critical Analysis

Date of Award

3-7-2012

Document Type

Undergraduate Capstone Project

Degree Name

Master of Liberal Studies

Organizational Unit

University College, Global Community Engagement

Disciplines

Global Affairs

First Advisor

Benjamin Gochman

Keywords

North Korea, Nuclear weapons, Brinkmanship, Agreed framework, United States, DPRK, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Six-Party talks, KEDO, Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization, Nuclear

Abstract

North Korea's regime has one goal, to guarantee its survival. To accomplish that goal it desired the U.S. to maintain a strong presence on the Korean Peninsula to act as an international deterrent against possible foreign occupation of its nation. The DPRK encouraged the U.S. by signing the 1994 Agreed Framework, a formal commitment between the two countries that froze North Korea's nuclear programs in exchange for U.S. energy aid. In 2002 the Bush Administration did not honour its commitment and blamed North Korea for the Agreed Framework's collapse. North Korea retaliated by choosing to become a nuclear nation, an action guaranteed to insure a constant U.S. presence on the Korean Peninsula.

Publication Statement

Copyright is held by the author. Permanently suppressed.

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