The regime of Kim Jong-Il has been called "mad," "rogue," even,
by the "Wall Street Journal," the equivalent of an "unreformed
serial killer." Yet, despite the avalanche of television and print
coverage of the Pyongyang government's violation of nuclear
nonproliferation agreements and existing scholarly literature on
North Korean policy and security, this critical issue remains mired
in political punditry and often misleading sound bites. Victor Cha
and David Kang step back from the daily newspaper coverage and
cable news commentary and offer a reasoned, rational, and logical
debate on the nature of the North Korean regime.
Coming to the issues from different perspectives -- Kang
believes the threat posed by Pyongyang has been inflated and
endorses a more open approach, while Cha is more skeptical and
advocates harsher measures -- the authors together have written an
essential work of clear-eyed reflection and authoritative analysis.
They refute a number of misconceptions and challenge much faulty
thinking that surrounds the discussion of North Korea, particularly
the idea that North Korea is an irrational nation. Cha and Kang
contend that however provocative, even deplorable, the Pyongyang
government's behavior may at times be, it is not incomprehensible
or incoherent. Neither is it "suicidal," they argue, although
crisis conditions could escalate to a degree that provokes the
North Korean regime to "lash out" as the best and only policy, the
unintended consequence of which are suicide and/or collapse.
Further, the authors seek to fill the current scholarly and policy
gap with a vision for a U.S.-South Korea alliance that is not
simply premised on a North Korean threat, not simply derivative of
Japan, and not eternally based on an older, "Korean War generation"
of supporters.
This book uncovers the inherent logic of the politics of the
Korean peninsula, presenting an indispensable context for a new
policy of engagement. In an intelligent and trenchant debate, the
authors look at the implications of a nuclear North Korea for East
Asia and U.S. homeland security, rigorously assessing historical
and current U.S. policy, and provide a workable framework for
constructive policy that should be followed by the United States,
Japan, and South Korea if engagement fails to stop North Korean
nuclear proliferation.
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