The North Korean Missile Crisis: Introduction

American President, Donald Trump has said that the easiest and most logical way to deal with this situation is to interfere with North Korea’s economic stability. The solution then is for China, who is responsible for the staggering majority of North Korean trade, to halt or severely limit their trade with the country. However, the Chinese government has alerted President Trump that it may not be as simple as “halting trade with North Korea”.

While North Korean leader Kim Jung Un is not a man the Chinese want to have weapons of mass destruction, there are other considerations that the Chinese have, that perhaps global citizens are not aware of. For instance, North Korea currently acts as a buffer on the Chinese border that acts as a sort of safety net against having American military equipment set up in their backyard. Furthermore, due to its location, China has the concern that if they send the country into economic downfall, they could be having a illegal immigration or refugee situation. These are just a few of the major concerns for China.

In order to create a solution for this high stakes game of regime chicken, it is important to understand what North Korea is doing, who it is effecting, who it could effect, and what is being done in response. Understanding Kim Jung, Donald Trump, and many of the other global leaders who played a part or will play a part in the story yet to come. While this paper will explore the causation of this situation, the purpose of this literary piece will be to determine a peaceful solution, if there is one.

Sources:

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Grzelczyk, V. (2018). North Koreas new diplomacy: challenging political isolation in the 21st century. London: Palgrave Macmillan.

Summary: This source takes an interesting look at how isolation and introverted politics can impact a country in today’s world. North Korea has been under “family rule” for generations. After years of the same message, and limited access to anything but that message, it is understandable the North Korean people all seem to have similar views on Kim Jung and their country’s direction. This source offers valuable insight into an environment that is unfamiliar to us.

Trump, D. (2017). Continuation of the national emergency with respect to North Korea: message from the President of the United States transmitting notification that the national emergency, with respect to North Korea, originally declared in Executive Order 13466 of June 26, 2008, as amended, is to continue in effect beyond June 26, 2017, pursuant to 50 U.S.C. 1622(d); Public law 94-412, Sec. 202(d); (90 Stat. 1257). Washington: U.S. Government Publishing Office.

Summary: This source provides legal documents and legislative examples of how this crisis has been going on. Originally, 2008 was the year where the North Korean leadership first the force of sanctions and global consequences for their actions. These sanctions seem to have not slowed them for long, which is why the crisis has extended for nearly a decade. The source provides me with the infrastructure to examine the issues through the correct lens because I am able to understand the origin of many storylines that are ongoing.

Countering the North Korean threat: new steps in U.S. policy: hearing before the Committee on Foreign Affairs, House of Representatives, One Hundred Fifteenth Congress, first session, February 7, 2017. (2017). Washington: U.S. Government Publishing Office.

Summary: In this scholarly source many of the brightest minds in the industry come together to discuss the measures and actions that can be taken in order to slow the North Korean threat. Nuclear War seems inevitable and the committee of Foreign Affairs is a group of government, legal, and human rights minds that are working to make that statement a fallacy. It seems to everyone watching that President Trump is “getting us into trouble” this source reminds us that there are hundreds of minds right here in Washington trying to solve this crisis. Which indicates the global magnitude, if thousands of people are trying to solve this problem all at once.

Pressuring North Korea: evaluating options: hearing before the Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, House of Representatives, One Hundred Fifteenth Congress, first session, March 21, 2017. (2017). Washington: U.S. Government Publishing Office.

Summary: There are strong statements in this source that would strengthen my argument that many plans have been explored and deemed insufficient in the past. This is imperative to this argument because there are many options on how to deal with a “dictator” but there are plenty of data points to look to already when dealing with this individual monarch.

Iverson, S. (2017). Stop North Korea!: a radical new approach to the North Korea standoff. North Clarendon: Tuttle Publishing.

Summary: This is without a doubt the most interesting source I found and plan to use this to backup my final recommendation (pending further research and reflection). In consideration of the fact that many efforts have been proven to be inefficient enough to halt the production of nuclear missiles. These weapons of mass destruction are in the hands of a terrifying man, one who does have a vendetta with Japan, and also his neighbors to the South. This plan suggests that if “money wins wars”, then in theory we should be able to basically pay the North Koreans to hand over their Leader. This plan has obstacles, which I plan to address.