Missing the Motive : A Critical Review of Expert Recommendations on North Korea's Nuclear Program
동기를 놓치다: 전문가 추천에 대한 비판적 검토 북한의 핵 프로그램
- 주제어 (키워드) North Korea , U.S. Foreign Policy , Nuclear Weapons , Strategic Motivations , Engagement , Pressure , Deterrence , Containment , 북한 , 미국 외교 정책 , 핵무기 , 전략 동기 , 참여 , 압박 , 억제 , 억제
- 발행기관 서강대학교 국제대학원
- 지도교수 SON Daekwon
- 발행년도 2025
- 학위수여년월 2025. 8
- 학위명 석사
- 학과 및 전공 국제대학원 East Asian Studies (including Korean Studies)
- 실제 URI http://www.dcollection.net/handler/sogang/000000082042
- UCI I804:11029-000000082042
- 본문언어 영어
- 저작권 서강대학교 논문은 저작권 보호를 받습니다.
초록 (요약문)
North Korea, one of the most isolated, repressive and opaque communist regimes in the world has managed to place the United States and its allies in a strategic chokehold. Since the end of the Cold War, no U.S. foreign policy strategy has succeeded in halting the DPRK’s nuclear weapons program. Engagement, later followed by pressure in the form of sanctions, did not prevent North Korea from getting the bomb. Engagement remains widely defended by scholars not because it has proven effective, but because it was the White House’s preferred approach to dealing with Pyongyang. Backed by half of academia, policymakers continue to pursue engagement with a deceptive, coercive regime that has mastered the art of blackmailing the United States and its neighbors into offering endless concessions in exchange for the illusion of denuclearization. This research conducted a qualitative content analysis of 119 expert articles on North Korea’s nuclear program published between 2002 and 2020. The analysis confirms that engagement is the most commonly recommended approach and reveals that most of its advocates echo U.S. foreign policy without offering independent or critical assessments. Strikingly, nearly half of the experts fail to address North Korea’s motivations for pursuing nuclear weapons at all, reflecting a deeper reluctance in academia to confront the regime’s long-term strategy. This lack of clarity enables the DPRK to continue blackmailing the international community with impunity. If scholars and policymakers are to generate credible and effective recommendations, they must first be willing to challenge misperceptions, confront epistemological assumptions, and seriously interrogate the rationale of Kim Jong-un’s regime.
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Abstract
Chapter I: Introduction 1
Chapter II: Literature Review 7
Chapter III: Analytical Framework 25
1. Theory 25
2. Methodology 25
2.1. Research Design 25
2.2. Sampling Selection and Data Collection 27
2.3. Data Analysis and Coding 29
3. Limitations 37
Chapter IV: Data Analysis 38
1. Overview of the Data Collected 38
2. Cross-Variable Patterns and Key Findings 47
Chapter V: Discussion 51
1. Academic Implications 57
2. Policy Implications 59
Chapter VI: Conclusion 62
References 66
