Fletcher Features
Current Issues: The Korean Peninsula
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| Stephen W. Bosworth, Dean of the Fletcher School, began a series of
talks on American foreign policy on Thursday, November 14. The
topic of his first discussion was “Fundamentals and Current Issues: The
Korean Peninsula.” Events seemed to have taken care of the first topic. “It seems quite timely to talk  about a subject I’ve been working on and off for seven
years—North Korea, its nuclear program, its implication for northeast
Asia and the challenges it produces for U.S. foreign policy,” said
Bosworth, former U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Korea (1997-2000).Students agreed. "Hearing from Dean Bosworth about North Korea was extremely valuable and timely given current world events," said Emma Belcher (’04). "I think these lectures will provide a great opportunity for students to learn from the Dean and will enhance the educational experience we receive here at Fletcher." Dean Bosworth began his talk by describing the nature of the North Korean regime and outlining the history of “Korea as we know it as a divided Korea” “In thinking about North Korea, it is useful to not think of it as a purely political regime. It is one of the strangest countries in the world. I tend to think of North Korea as more of a cult than a political movement; it’s sort of the Heaven’s Gate of organizations. When you see how Koreans react to North Korean leaders, it seems like highly organized propaganda. But these people since infancy learn all great things come from the great leader [Kim Il-Sung] and now the dear leader [current head Kim Jong-Il],” said Bosworth He outlined the situation from the June 1950 invasion of South Korea and the Korean War to the present crisis between the United States and North Korea regarding the latter’s admission it has broken a prior agreement halting its nuclear weapons programs. “Beginning in the nineteen eighties, North Korea began experimenting and doing work with nuclear activities with some assistance from the Soviet Union. By the late 1980s, the United States believed North Korea was embarked upon a nuclear weapons program, that it was intent on becoming a nuclear weapons state.” Dean Bosworth next turned to the origins of the current crisis. “In 1993 and 1994--in the first years of the Clinton administration--there was a major crisis on the Korean peninsula. It looked in the early summer of 1994 that North Korea was determined to maintain their program and the United States was determined not to let them. It looked like war was possible on the peninsula.” The crisis was later resolved with an informal accord called the Agreed Framework of Geneva. This accord was to provide the North with two 1,000-megawatt light water reactors and shipments of oil to help it meet its immediate energy needs. In return, North Korean agreed they would halt their nuclear program and allow the International Atomic Energy Agency to verify the freeze. The recent admission by North Korea that it had broken this pledge has led to the current crisis. “We confronted them [about the breach of the agreement] and to our horror, they admitted it. We confronted them expecting them to deny it. They came back and said, ‘Yes, we have it, and damn it, we’re entitled to have it, and what are you going to do about it?’ The [Bush] administration is now struggling to see what they’re going to do about it.” Dean Bosworth outlined three options for dealing with the current situation. “The first option is, ‘Okay, we don’t care—let them do it [maintain their nuclear program].’” He said the United States can’t do this for various reasons including pressure it would put on Japan and South Korea to develop nuclear programs should North Korea develop a credible nuclear weapons program with means of delivery. The second option is economic sanctions. “This is what we’re doing now.” Dean Bosworth said that he believes these sanctions, like most others, are ineffective. Finally, the Dean said that some are suggesting that the United States has a military option. “I don’t believe we do,” he said. “The consequences of military conflict on the Korean peninsula—just with conventional weapons—would be horrendous. We’ve got to find a way to deal with North Korea in a political fashion.” “North Koreans are not receptive to confrontation, to say the least. This is not the way to approach them. I think we have to turn this from an adversarial relationship into one in which we at least claim we are sharing common views. Bosworth concluded his talk by saying that the North Korean issue cannot be dealt with in a vacuum. “Everything in American foreign policy is connected to everything else. You can’t deal with North Korea on its own.” Following the talk, Dean Bosworth concluded by taking questions from students. The discussion included a wide range of queries including North Korea’s motivation for admitting their nuclear program, the morality of U.S. foreign policy in the region and the forthcoming South Korean elections and its “Sunshine Policy.” “Dean Bosworth's experience in, and expertise on, North Korea provided an additional element of authenticity, especially during the question and answer session,” concluded Belcher. |