The North Korean Threat: War, Deterrence and Diplomacy
To deal effectively with North Korea, the United States must have the demonstrable capability to mount an overwhelming defense in the event of a conflict.
While the United States has at various times put aside concerns about North Korean internal affairs, including its human rights abuses, it is becoming clear that normalization of relations is unlikely to succeed absent some revision in its human rights practices. Again, this may be accomplished incrementally and linked to movement on the American side. Sanctions relief and the negotiation of a peace treaty to replace the armistice should be within the realm of the imaginable.
To deal effectively with North Korea, the ROK, Japan and the United States must have the demonstrable capability to mount an overwhelming defense in the event of a conflict. Likewise, the United States must leave no doubt about deterrence and its capability and intent to retaliate in response to a strike against its territory or that of its allies. The United States should be willing to use diplomacy to engage in negotiations so long as there is the possibility of eventually achieving a nuclear weapons free peninsula, and the ROK, Japan and the United States should continue to invest in and cultivate their alliances as the best way to guarantee the peace in northeast Asia.
Robert L. Gallucci is a Distinguished Professor in the Practice of Diplomacy at Georgetown University’s Walsh School of Foreign Service, and the Chairman of the U.S.-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies.
Image: Reuters
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