North Korea essays

North Korea essays The United States has been presented a dilemma towards its foreign policy with the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (North Korea). North Koreas alleged launch of a new Taepo-Dong I missile on August 31, 1998 has heightened American worries and escalated an already tense situation with North Korea. The United States response towards this new missile, which could possibly be able to reach the edges of both Alaska and Hawaii , will be a factor in its decision on whether or not to continue to finance support towards North Korea. New sanctions could mean the collapse of a weak North Korean economy. Already on the brink of economic and political collapse, the loss of U.S. and KEDO aid could push them over the edge and into political ruin. One major factor involved in the foreign policy decision is the collapse of North Korea. It could mean one of three things: Implosion (collapse of the state), explosion (war with South Korea) or absorption (reform and reunification). In May 1997, acti ng Director of Central Intelligence, George Tenet, stated, One of the things that worries us most is an implosion internally. The result of an implosion, the collapse of the state, would be hundreds of thousands of refugees fleeing to China and South Korea. China has already begun stepping up troops at the North Korean border to halt the flow of refugees should this happen. South Korea would possibly use force to deter refugees to the south. Another factor here is the humanitarian influences. Massive floods, droughts and typhoons since 1995 have forced North Korea to accept international food aid. Widespread famine has reportedly killed hundreds of thousands of people. This acceptance is contrary to the North Korean governments policy of juche or self-reliance . It is feared that the government of North Korea is diverting scarce food sources from the civilian sector to its military, even at a time of humanitarian cr...