Change in North Korean Policy Could Catalyze Restructuring of the International Stage

It appears as though there is a detente of sorts developing between North and South
Korea. This collaboration of the Koreas comes in lieu of the tension-filled past year in which the
People’s Republic of Korea has made concentrated efforts to bolster both their ICBM and
nuclear arsenals. As part of this newly constructed relationship, high ranking officials from North
and South Korea are set to meet on the North Korean side of the “truce village” of Panmunjom to
discuss the agenda and talking points of an upcoming meeting between President Moon Jae-in of
South Korea and leader of North Korea Kim Jong-un. The delegation of South Korea will be led
by the Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon while the North Korean delegation will be led by
Ri Son-kwon. Ri Son-kwon is a high ranking senior advisor to Kim Jong-un who visited South
Korea during their hosting of the Olympic games last month. This visit was made with the
purpose of strengthening this newly formed collaborative relationship between the two
historically combative states.

One of the chief concerns regarding the relationship between the Koreas has been the
emboldened effort to build up a nuclear and intercontinental ballistic missile arsenal by DPRK.
While Kim Jong-un and his administration have been known to inflate and exacerbate
information, it is clear from the various nuclear tests conducted by North Korea that they, at
minimum, possess weapons with nuclear capability. However, what does this arsenal look like,
and what kind of capabilities does it possibly possess? North Korea has conducted a total of five
nuclear tests. In order to launch a legitimate nuclear attack on an enemy, North Korea must have
the capability of sizing down these nuclear warheads so that they could fit onto a missile. While
it was widely believed that they did not have this capability, leaked information to the

Washington Post in 2017 revealed that North Korea was indeed already capable of this process of
“miniaturization”. In regards to the magnitude of the tests being conducted, the nuclear bombs
appear to be consistently increasing in strength. Their strongest test was in September of 2016,
where the device launched produced an explosion between the range of ten and thirty kilotonnes.
For reference, the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima by the U.S at the conclusion of World
War II was thirteen kilotonnes. Another key detail of the test in September of 2016 is that it was
a hydrogen bomb being tested, rather than atomic bombs which were tested previously.
Hydrogen bombs are created on the basis of merging atoms to create a powerful explosion, in
contrast to atomic bombs that utilize nuclear fission. While some critics doubt the fact that it was
a hydrogen bomb based on the blast radius, the implications are still worrisome.

This nuclear arsenal and the uncertain motives behind its buildup are obvious signs of
concern, which is a key reason as to why the U.S is particularly interested in meeting with the
controversial leader. Luckily, to the U.S’s surprise North Korean leader Kim Jong-un requested a
meeting with President Trump. If this meeting were to occur, it would be the first time a standing
U.S president met with a North Korean leader, as the U.S is still technically at war with North
Korea because the Korean war was halted in 1953 due to a truce, rather than a formal treaty. This
meeting has been viewed by many as vital to national security because Kim Jong-un has been
quoted as saying that he would be willing to denuclearize his arsenal, and even halt all nuclear
and ICBM tests while the negotiations are in progress. Until this point, Mr. Kim has been
consistent in the stance that North Korea’s nuclear program would not be used as a bargaining
chip, however, it seems as though now he could choose to denuclearize if given security
guarantees from the U.S.

This sudden willingness to construct a positive relationship with South Korea coupled with a
desire to receive security from the U.S in exchange for denuclearization is in stark contrast with
the traditional North Korean strategy. Some see this as controversial and possibly a ploy. Critics
have hypothesized that Mr. Kim is simply attempting to ease the sanctions imposed on North
Korea in order to grant them more time and capital to contribute to their nuclear and ICBM
agenda. While this could possibly be true and should be handled with precaution, this new North
Korean attitude is a breath of fresh air to the international community and could quite possibly
lead to resolution of one of the tensest conflicts on the global stage today.