North Korea News: Missile Threat Reasons

Think Tanks Evaluate Political News & Motives of Kim Jong-il

Jun 25, 2009

North Korea news is about nuclear threats. Dictator Kim Jong-Il is promoting its North Korea missile launch program. Three think tank experts speculate on the reasons.

Experts on North Korea have provided reasons for its nuclear and missile threats, in articles published on the web sites of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) and the Foreign Policy Research Institute (FPRI).

“North Korea’s nuclear test on May 25 [2009]...once again threatens stability in Northeast Asia...” states The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), preceding an interview article about North Korea on their web site. The Council on Foreign Relations, founded in 1921, is located in Washington, D.C.

The title of the CFR article, dated May 28, 2009, is “The North Korean Puzzle.” Robert McMahon, Acting Editor of CFR, and Jayshree Bajoria, Staff Writer of CFR, authors of “The North Korean Puzzle,” jointly interviewed experts in North Korean affairs to determine North Korea’s motives.

North Korea Missile Launch

“North Korea has conducted few launches of the Taepodong series of long-range ballistic missiles...that may eventually have a range far enough to reach the United States,” according to Charles D. Ferguson, who is a Philip D. Reed Senior Fellow for Science and Technology, Council on Foreign Relations. He was interviewed by CFR and his comments appear in “The North Korean Puzzle.”

Ferguson provided an evaluation of North Korea’s nuclear capabilities and their political use of this technology. Some possible reasons he gives are:

“The U.S. and its partners face the reality that they have limited options in stopping North Korea from further developing its nuclear arsenal,” according to Ferguson.

“What has to be conveyed to the North Koreans is that their actions....are headed in the wrong direction,” is the advice of Charles “Jack” Pritchard, President of the Korea Economic Institute, and former ambassador and special envoy for negotiations with North Korea (2001-2003). He was interviewed by CFR for the article, “The North Korean Puzzle.”

Think Tank Advice to Deal with Kim Jong-Il

Pritchard believes the best way to deal with Kim Jong-Il’s regime is through a bilateral approach directly between the U.S. and North Korea. He states that in the last 15 years this approach “...has produced the most results in the shortest period of time.” However, he also concludes that in addition the “....ultimate solution...requires a multilateral (multi-nation) solution.”

“North Korea has always been known as a troublesome state...its antics have alienated even its strongest supporters,” according to an article titled, “Putting Together the North Korean Puzzle,” by Kongdan Oh and Ralph Hassing. The article, dated June, 2009, is published on U.S. Foreign Policy Research Institute web site. Mr. Oh is a Research Staff Member at the Institute for Defense Analysis, and a Non-Resident Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution. Mr. Hassing is a Washington-based consultant on North Korea.

The possible reasons given by Kongdan Oh and Ralph Hassing for North Korea’s actions are:

Possible North Korea Nuke War

“The United States and South Korea...are refurbishing their plans to intervene in case North Korea...descends into anarchy...China, Russia, and Japan...working on their own contingency plans...” according to “Putting Together the North Korean Puzzle.”

Primary reasons for North Korea’s threats are leadership succession, improving their negotiating stance, sale of nuclear weapon and missile parts, and worry about the country’s stability. The three experts agree that the only tools North Korea has are weapons and threats.

The copyright of the article North Korea News: Missile Threat Reasons in Global Security is owned by Bernard P. Nelson. Permission to republish North Korea News: Missile Threat Reasons in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.