The US has continually made efforts to ensure that it has working and strong foreign policies with North Korea in spite of their obvious differences and tensions. The differences can be traced to the Korean War and have been fuelled further by North Korea’s policy on nuclear weapons. North Korea has continually made headlines owing to its nuclear weapons development and testing. In the past, the US administration has made efforts to work out their relationships but it is clear that no side is yet to back down. In as much as the US and North Korea are bound by the 1953 Mutual Defense Treaty, the US-North Korea diplomatic relationships are yet to improve owing to the difference in opinion and policies. Nonetheless, the current administration is keen on ensuring that North Korea backs down on its nuclear programs, which not only threaten the US but the world as a whole. It is hoped that both sides will iron out their policy differences, which will allow these two nations to work together in finding a lasting solution.
History of the US-North Korea Foreign Policy
The US-North Korea relation has been hostile for most of the part and this hostility can be traced to the role the US played in the Korean War. The US was considered an enemy i the war since it supported and funded South Korea in the war. The split of Korea into South and North Korea was attributed to the Cold War between the US and the Soviet Union. In a way, the US is held responsible for the unfortunate historical events that led to the formation of North Korea. While President Truman felt that the US needed to get involved for the sake of Japan-US policy, which was under threat from the war, North Korea felt threatened by such an intervention. The US then went ahead to deploy its naval and air forces in the hope that the conflict between the two Koreas would die down. This move created hostility between these two nations and the hostility has continued to define the US-North Korea foreign policy to date,
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North Korea’s Nuclear Weapons Development And Testing Program
North Korea has a sophisticated nuclear development and testing program that has been at the center of its foreign policy with the US. The nuclear development and testing give North Korea an edge while it is a threat to the US and the world at large. The North Korea nuclear program is a global treat considering that in January 2003 it withdrew from the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). More so, North Korea is no longer party to the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC)) and the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT). What this means then is that North Korea is capable of conducting sophisticated nuclear tests. Actually, North Korea has managed to test its nuclear weapons six times since 2006 something that worries the US as it comes in the way of the US-North Korea diplomatic relations.
Past Attempts to Mend the US-North Korea Foreign Policy
The US has attempted to mend its volatile foreign policies with North Korea on several occasions but so far, it has not yet yielded the requisite results. The reason for this is the fact that North Korea is insistent on continuing its nuclear weapon development and testing. The US has continually engaged with the North Korea administration in the hope that they will find a lasting solution. Technically, the US has been put under pressure by other nations, which have a major stake in the issue. Owing to the need to ensure the safety of the US and the rest of the world, the US has used both diplomatic mean and pressure with the hope that they will isolate North Korea to do away with the nuclear weapons programs. These attempts have not yet achieved much as North Korea continues to expand its nuclear weapon program.
The earliest attempts to avert a nuclear program crisis were in December 1985 when the US and other signatories paved way for North Korea to join the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT). In 1991 the US and Soviet Union announced that they would withdraw one hundred nuclear weapons from Korea in relation to the Strategic Arms reduction treaty. The following year North Korea and South Korea agreed that they would not manufacture, test possesses, receive or store nuclear weapons. This agreement established that both Koreas would not use nuclear weapons for other purposes apart from peaceful ones. In 1993, the US averted North Korea's threat to leave NPT owing to Pyongyang rejection to International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspections. I 1994, the US and North Korea signed the Agreed framework where Korea pledged to freeze its plutonium weapon program as well as halt its nuclear reactors. Over the 1990s and 2000s, the US and Korea have been on and out of agreements with the latter defying most of the deals. The US has used sanctions, diplomacy, pressure, and freezing of Korean funds to no avail.
Recent Attempts to Mend the US-North Korean Foreign Policy
As established, the US has been at the forefront in trying to talk North Korea of its sophisticated nuclear weapons programs. This decade just the two previous decades have witnessed more US government commitment to push the nuclear weapon program agenda by the North Korean. President Barack Obama had his fair share of the foreign policy issues back in 2009 where Kim Jong-un, North Koreas then president agreed to a moratorium on nuclear weapons program at Yogbon. North Korea agreed to this deal only if the US would agree to give North Korea food aid. Critics saw this as a lame excuse considering that North Korea could use the funds it's channeled to the nuclear weapon programs for enhancing food security. As expected North Korea forfeited this agreement saying that it is keen on advancing its nuclear weapons programs.
The Trump administration just like any other administration before has taken up the issue with North Korea. When Donald Trump took on power in 2017, he reiterated his commitment to work on the US-North Korea foreign policy. In the same year in September North Korea went ahead to conduct the sixth test of its nuclear weapons and raised an international concern due to the magnitude of the explosion. Following this nuclear testing, Donald Trump established that North Korea was to be regarded as a sponsor to terrorist activities. This remark contributed to escalation hostility between these two nations as North Korea threatened the US while the US threatened a military strike. One can clearly see that this form of threats does more harm than good when it comes to US-Korea foreign policy. In spite of this hostility, both Trump and the North Korean administration are continually finding a solution to this issue. In March 2018, Donald Trump announced that he was ready to meet Kim Jong-un in Pyongyang by May of that year. This commitment saw North Korean president visit his southern counterpart in April 2018 where they agreed to achieve a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula. The big break came on June 12, 2018, when Donald Trump met with the North Korean president Kim Jong-un in Singapore. The two signed a joint statement where they declared their desire to completely denuclearize the Korean Peninsula and pursue a lasting peace. The joint statement is a hope that these two countries can end a six-decade back forth of hostility and failed agreements. Fast-forward to 2019 the US and North Korea is yet to reach a deal owing to extremist ideologies presented by both sides. The US and North Korean administration are yet to agree over denuclearization and sanctions relief something that continues to affect the already strained US-North Korea relations.
What Future Holds for US-Korean Foreign Policy
The future for US-Korean foreign policy is bleak considering that it has taken over three decades to reach an amicable solution. Each of the sides has hard lined ideologies and no side is able to back down. One can clearly see that this is just a battle for supremacy with each side wanting to win it. However, not all is lost as the two leaders are trying to forge respect and mutual acceptance of opposing ideologies. It remains to be seen whether Donald Trump administration will succeed in making North Korea gives up its nuclear power. It also remains to be seen whether North Korea will give up its nuclear weapon program out of goodwill as opposed to threats, pressure, and coercion. It is only good to hope that in the future the US will have better relations with North Korea.
In conclusion, the US and Korea have had strained and hostile foreign relations which can be traced back to the Korean War. The US, which supported South Korea and had a significant influence owing to its participation in the Cold War, has tried to mend the relationship. However, North Korea has remained adamant over the years seeing that it has sophisticated nuclear weapons, which bolster its supremacy. In a way one can establish that the US and North Korea is in a battle for supremacy and nation is about to relent. Various attempts to deal with the strained relationship have not yielded results owing to the hardliner ideologies of both countries. Nonetheless, there is hope that this is about to change as the current leaders are committed to the cause. It remains to be seen if the efforts will bear fruit and improve the US-North Korean foreign policies.
References
Campbell, Joel R. “The Wrong War: The Soviets and the Korean War, 1945-1953.” International Social Science Review, 88, no. 3 (2014): 1-17.
Council on Foreign Relations. “North Korean Nuclear Negotiations 1985 – 2019.” www.cfr.org. 2019. https://www.cfr.org/timeline/north-korean-nuclear-negotiations (Accessed 4 July 2019).
Fisher, Max. “Amid Talks With U.S., Glimpses of New Futures for North Korea.” The New York Times. July 2, 2019. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/02/world/asia/trump-kim-north-korea.html. (Accessed 4 July 2019).
France-Presse, Agence. “North Korea says US 'hell-bent' on sanctions despite Trump-Kim talks.” The Guardian. July 4, 2019. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jul/04/north-korea-says-us-hell-bent-on-sanctions-despite-trump-kim-talks (Accessed 4 July 2019)
Manyin, Mark. E, Emma Chanlett-Avery, and Brock R. Williams. South Korea: Background and U.S. Relations . USA: Congressional Research Service, 2019.
Nuclear Threat Initiative. “North Korea.” www.nti.org. May 2019. https://www.nti.org/learn/countries/north-korea/ (Accessed 4 July 2019).
The White House. “Joint Statement of President Donald J. Trump of the United States of America and Chairman Kim Jong Un of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea at the Singapore Summit.” whitehouse.gov. June 12, 2018. www.whitehouse.gov (Accessed 4 July 2019).
Wertz, Daniel. “The U.S., North Korea, and Nuclear Diplomacy.” The National Committee on North Korea. October 2018. https://www.ncnk.org/resources/briefing-papers/all-briefing-papers/history-u.s.-dprk-relations (Accessed 4 July 2019).
Joel R. Campbell, “The Wrong War: The Soviets and the Korean War, 1945-1953,” International Social Science Review, 88, no. 3 (2014): 5
Nuclear Threat Initiative, “North Korea,” www.nti.org, May 2019, https://www.nti.org/learn/countries/north-korea/ (Accessed 4 July 2019).
Daniel Wertz, “The U.S., North Korea, and Nuclear Diplomacy,” The National Committee on North Korea, October 2018, https://www.ncnk.org/resources/briefing-papers/all-briefing-papers/history-u.s.-dprk-relations (Accessed 4 July 2019)..
Council on Foreign Relations, “North Korean Nuclear Negotiations 1985 – 2019,” www.cfr.org, 2019, https://www.cfr.org/timeline/north-korean-nuclear-negotiations (Accessed 4 July 2019).
Council on Foreign Relations, “North Korean Nuclear Negotiations 1985 – 2019,” Ibid.
Mark E. Manyin, Emma Chanlett-Avery, and Brock R. Williams, South Korea: Background and U.S. Relations , [USA: Congressional Research Service, 2019], 2.
The White House, “Joint Statement of President Donald J. Trump of the United States of America and Chairman Kim Jong Un of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea at the Singapore Summit,” whitehouse.gov, June 12, 2018, www.whitehouse.gov, (Accessed 4 July 2019).
Agence France-Presse, “North Korea says US 'hell-bent' on sanctions despite Trump-Kim talks,” The Guardian, July 4, 2019, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jul/04/north-korea-says-us-hell-bent-on-sanctions-despite-trump-kim-talks (Accessed 4 July 2019).
Max Fisher, “Amid Talks With U.S., Glimpses of New Futures for North Korea,” The New York Times, July 2, 2019, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/02/world/asia/trump-kim-north-korea.html. (Accessed 4 July 2019).
