Pixabay, edited by NK News | Full Moon on Capitol Hill Washington
Washington has for decades tried to convince North Korea not to pursue nuclear weapons, and then once it had them, to give them up.
This hasn’t worked, for the very simple reason that there is no better security guarantee for a paranoid Pyongyang leadership that understands much of the world would rather it be gone. However, there have been times when it looked like U.S. policies were making inroads — sometimes to the surprise of long-time North Korea watchers.
Washington has for decades tried to convince North Korea not to pursue nuclear weapons, and then once it had them, to give them up.
This hasn’t worked, for the very simple reason that there is no better security guarantee for a paranoid Pyongyang leadership that understands much of the world would rather it be gone. However, there have been times when it looked like U.S. policies were making inroads — sometimes to the surprise of long-time North Korea watchers.
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Chad O'Carroll is the founder of NK News/NK Pro and related holding company Korea Risk Group. In addition to being the group's CEO, O'Carroll is a frequent writer and commentator about the Koreas, having written about the two nations since 2010. He has visited the DPRK multiple times, worked and lived in Washington, D.C. with a focus on peninsula issues, and lived in the ROK since 2016.