Engaging North Korea: The Road Ahead.

摘要

For the past half-century, United States forces have been stationed in Korea as a deterrent to communist expansion and as a symbol of U.S. resolve to defend the Republic of Korea (ROK) against North Korean aggression. Over the past decade, a declining and increasingly isolated North Korea has reached out to the international community, raising the prospect for positive change and peaceful reconciliation between long-standing adversaries. With North Korean belligerence the most obvious reason for maintaining U.S. presence on the peninsula, successful engagement between North and South Korea could have an obvious impact on the US/ROK alliance. Given the significance of this relationship to U.S. security strategy, this study examines ongoing engagement efforts between North Korea and the outside world, reviewing the progress, impact and effects these rapprochement initiatives could have in shaping the future of the Korean peninsula and the stability of Northeast Asia -.