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What are the latest developments regarding the North Korean nuclear threat?
The recent decision of North Korea to disable its nuclear program is the result of an ongoing process of reaching a diplomatic solution to the controversy which accompanied North Korea's prior declarations of intent to resume its nuclear program and withdraw from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. The degree to which the US has made concessions which prompted this declaration is uncertain. If history is a reliable indicator, North Korea will continue to threaten to resume its nuclear program unless it is comfortable with its relationship with the United States and other nations.
In 2006 North Korea tested long range missiles, causing predictable international consternation. The UN Security Council unanimously supported a resolution to block the shipment of missile parts to North Korea. The US continues to strive toward a diplomatic accommodation with the North Koreans and is hopeful that the North Korean tests will prod China and Japan to assist in applying more diplomatic pressure for a solution.
The tests brought a halt to a trend where North Korea was gradually normalizing relations with the west. Despite its declaration of a nuclear weapons program, North Korea had participated in talks about the situation. The North Korean government had taken steps to re-establish road and rail links with the South and to start work on the project almost immediately; sending more than 600 athletes and representatives to join the Asian games in South Korea; enacting a series of economic and market reforms; and taking steps to normalize relations with Japan. North and South Korean athletes marched together at the 2004 Olympic games in a symbolic display of friendship and cultural unity. Because of these promising signs, the U.S. had softened its position and has sent signals that it would give Pyongyang aid and security guarantees to ease its political and economic isolation in return for a step-by-step dismantling of North Korean plutonium and uranium weapons programs. In the meantime, recent revelations regarding possible South Korea nuclear developments have complicated the controversy.
How did North Korea become a country? Who is in charge?
North Korea  (Click to see map) lies in the northwest portion of the Korean peninsula which is attached to the mainland of Asia. It is inhabited by 22.2 million people.
The entire Korean peninsula lies directly west of Japan and to the east of China. These two regions have exerted influence over Korea at various times throughout its history. During the first half of the twentieth century, Korea was a part of Japan, having been acquired from Russia at the turn of the century following the Russo-Japanese war.
The status of Korea became a focal point of the "cold war" between the United States and Soviet Union following World War 2. With the surrender of Japan, the northern half of the Korean peninsula was occupied by the Soviet Union and the southern half was occupied by the United States. Although the plan was to unify the peninsula, this became impossible as a Communist-style regime emerged in the north which forbade participation in a United Nations-sponsored unifying election.
The Republic of Korea was created in 1948 in the southern portion of the country and the People's Democratic Republic of Korea was established in the north. Both republics claimed authority to rule Korea as a whole and hostilities became quite common at the border. One such incursion by Northern Korea in June 1950 led to the outbreak of the Korean War. The United Nations Security Council, in the absence of the Soviet Union, adopted a resolution demanding that North Korea withdraw its forces to north of the 38th parallel. When the North Koreans ignored the resolution and approached Seoul, the South Korean capital, the United States led a United Nations force to repel this invasion. After making initial gains, the North Koreans were repelled. Communist China then entered the war in support of North Korea and a prolonged war resulted. The conflict ultimately ended with an armistice in 1953 which established the original 38th parallel as the boundary.
Subsequent to the Korean War, the Communist government of North Korea with the assistance of the Soviet Union used the region's rich mineral and power resources as the basis for an ambitious program of industrialization and rehabilitation.
From 1948 through 1994, political power in North Korea rested with Kim Il-Sung. Prior to assuming power, Kim Il-Sung had a long history of participating in resistance to the Japanese occupation of Korea. After taking command of the country with communist support, he succeeded in constructing a cult of personality with himself as the main icon for adoration. He retained effective power until his death in 1994. In the last decade of his regime, economic development was impeded by a rigid economic system and the loss of trading partners in the Soviet bloc.
After his death, Kim Il-Sung was ultimately succeeded by his son, Kim Jong-il. Unlike his father, who was charismatic and popular, the younger Jong-il is more reclusive. He has a reputation as a vain playboy, with permed hair and lifts in his shoes, and a penchant for foreign liquor. He is believed to be partly responsible for developing North Korea's suspected nuclear weapons program. Within North Korea, there is an effort to construct a new cult of personality around the current leader. He is regularly hailed by the media as the "peerless leader" and "the great successor to the revolutionary cause".
Today the North Korean economy, as measured by per capita GDP, is at lower third world levels.  (Click to see chart) Hampered by a severe energy crisis which has been exacerbated by the termination of U.S. oil shipments, North Korea's only basis of foreign exchange involves weapon production. Indeed, North Korea engages in legal arms sales with a variety of countries although the data regarding the extent of these sales is not readily available.
At the same time, South Korea has had phenomenal economic growth and has now joined the ranks of Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries.
What is North Korea's history with respect to nuclear weapons?
North Korea is a signatory to the 1968 Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. This treaty obligates the five nuclear weapon states (Russia, United States, United Kingdom, France and China) not to transfer nuclear weapons, other nuclear explosive devices, or their technology to any non-nuclear weapon state. The non-nuclear weapon states agree not to acquire or produce nuclear weapons or nuclear explosive devices. All nations are parties to this agreement except India, Pakistan, Cuba, and Israel.
In March 1993, faced with accusations that it was not abiding by the non-proliferation treaty and in response to massive U.S. military exercises in the region, North Korea announced it was withdrawing from the treaty. The initial response of the Clinton Administration was to prepare for a war which would ultimately destroy North Korea. This plan, which would have likely been successful despite an enormous loss of life, was opposed by South Korea but was not abandoned until former U.S. President James Carter (accompanied by CNN) flew to North Korea and engaged in unofficial efforts to achieve a diplomatic solution to the crisis.
Under the terms of an agreement reached in 1994 with the U.S., North Korea promised to freeze its nuclear weapons program in return for fuel oil, paid for by Washington, and two light water reactors that could not easily be converted to produce atomic weapons material. In November 2002, North Korea announced that the U.S. has not kept its commitments under this agreement and that it would resume its nuclear program. Specifically, North Korea claimed that the construction of the lightwater reactors - due to be completed in 2003 - was now years behind schedule due to purposeful delays by the U.S.. The facts seem to support the North Korean claim. In a separate action which the U.S. states is unrelated to the weapons issue, the U.S. has halted shipments of food to North Korea because of alleged concerns regarding the food distribution. At the same time, North Korea has proposed to give up its nuclear program if Washington signs a nonaggression treaty. The U.S. has responded by cutting of all oil shipments to North Korea and persuaded a reluctant South Korea and Japan to do likewise.
On April 23, 2003, negotiations began in Beijing between the US and North Korea, hosted by China. Although the meeting ended in mutual recriminations, US Secretary of State Colin Powell reported that North Korea had made an offer to US to scrap its nuclear program in exchange for major concessions from the United States. This proposal is presently being considered by the United States. The U.S. has recently sent signals that it may soften its position but talks are presently stalled amid recent revelations of South Korean nuclear activity and the uncertainty about a possible regime change in Washington.
What is the attitude of South Korea regarding this crisis?
The recent governments of South Korea have pursued a "sunshine policy" of engaging in a peaceful dialogue and rapprochement with North Korea. South Korea therefore opposes the more confrontational policy of the United States towards its northern neighbor. A historic summit between the two countries in June 2000 resulted in a mutual resolution to address the question of reunification through the joint efforts of the Korean people. The South Korean government has established a "Ministry of Unification" which promotes projects for bi-national cooperation between the two countries. Presently plans are proceeding to establish functional road and railway links and to unify families which had been separated.
What is the goal of U.S. policy regarding North Korea?
The U.S. is certainly concerned about North Korean intentions of resuming its nuclear program and its overall emphasis on military production. The U.S. is concerned that nuclear programs conducted by countries such as North Korea and Iran, combined with nuclear weapons programs already developed by India and Pakistan, will cause other countries to consider such programs as well. Such a development could frustrate the aims of the nuclear nonproliferation treaty and threaten overall world security. But there certainly appears to be aspects of traditional "cold war" policy as well. North Korea is one of the few remaining countries to maintain a communist-style state controlled economy. The U.S. is likely concerned about any unification arrangement between North and South Korea which does not include fundamental reforms in the structure of the North Korean economy. Until these changes occur, it appears to be U.S. policy to isolate North Korea from the international community. This policy and the North Korean response to it has provoked the current confrontation.
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