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A Debate On Engagement Strategies
Columbia University Press
May 2005
On Sale: May 10, 2005
280 pages
ISBN: 0231131291
EAN: 9780231131292
Paperback
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Non-Fiction
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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