Abstract
How would the capability to target the United States with nuclear missiles infl uence North Korean foreign policy? Pyongyang’s fi fth nuclear test
in September 2016 and series of long- range and intermediate- range missile
tests leave little doubt that the regime’s ultimate goal is the capability to
reliably target the United States with nuclear weapons. If—a better word is
probably when—Kim realizes this capability, what might the United States,
South Korea, and the regional community do to prevent the most dangerous outcomes and encourage safe or at least less dangerous ones? I address
these questions here. I argue that Kim Jong- un and his associates’ personal
experience of fear of imminent nuclear war in a nuclear crisis and beliefs
about how much control they have over nuclear escalation—if Pyongyang
develops the aforementioned capability—will determine whether nuclear
war ultimately erupts on the Korean Peninsula.
Original language | English |
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Title of host publication | North Korea and Nuclear Weapons: Entering the New Era of Deterrence |
Editors | SUNG CHULL KIM and MICHAEL D. COHEN |
Place of Publication | USA |
Publisher | Georgetown University Press |
Pages | 55-72 |
Edition | 1 |
ISBN (Print) | 9781626164529 |
Publication status | Published - 2017 |