THE US SECURITY POLICY AND NORTH KOREA NUCLEAR PROGRAMME, 2000 – 2008

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the study

Over the years, plethora of security challenges have characterized the Korea peninsula consequent upon North Korea  nuclear weapon progrmme and its determined efforts to attack the U.S, and its allies with nuclear weapon and ballistic missiles. However, this hostility between U.S and North Korea remains largely a product of cold war politics. In 1950, following a series of clashes along the border, North Korean forces entered South Korea, beginning the Korean War. The North was militarily backed by China, and to a lesser extent the Soviet Union, and the South by the U.S, under the auspices of a UN intervention force. The Korean War lasted three years: it cost the lives of an estimated five million people and left the peninsula almost entirely destroyed. The devastation experienced during this very brutal conflict has left a legacy of deep animosity towards U.S imperialism among the North Korean people who fear above all another devastating aggression. The war ended in armistice in 1953, a stalemate which persists with North and South Korea technically still at war. North Korea ratified the nuclear NonProliferation Treaty (NPT) in 1985, thus agreeing not to produce despite attempts by South Korean leaders to push for negotiations and maintain a focus on diplomacy, both Pyongyang and Washington returned to practicing military drills along the Korean border. By 2003, North Korea had declared its formal withdrawal from the NPT, stating its need for a nuclear ‘deterrent’ to ensure its security. Subsequently the Six-Party talks involving South Korea, North Korea, China, Japan, Russia and the United States were launched, in attempt to resolve regional issues peacefully. By 2005, North Korea had committed to abandoning all nuclear weapons and existing nuclear programmes, whilst the U.S affirmed it had no intention of attacking or invading North Korea. The agreement also covered the establishment of a permanent peace treaty to replace the 1953 armistice and the normalization of US-North Korea diplomatic relations. Therefore, when talks subsequently broke down in 2006, North Korea carried out its first nuclear test.