Who is protecting north korea

Proposals for more basic arms control also might prove unavailing, in which case withdrawal would become the only way to avoid North Korea becoming a real nuclear danger to the United States. And gaining an ability to force Washington to back down would enhance the value of developing nuclear weapons.

However, their worth already is enormous, as they are the only sure deterrent to U. Absent unlikely denuclearization via diplomacy, continuing to protect South Korea will increasingly expose the U. Nothing at stake in the peninsula warrants taking that risk. Doug Bandow is a senior fellow at the Cato Institute. A former special assistant to President Ronald Reagan, he is the author of several books, including Tripwire: Korea and U.

Foreign Policy in a Changed World. Shusha was the key to the recent war between Azerbaijan and Armenia. Now Baku wants to turn the fabled fortress town into a resort.

Argument An expert's point of view on a current event. By Doug Bandow , a senior fellow at the Cato Institute. July 7, , PM. Tags: North Korea , Nuclear Weapons. Argument Tang Yuan. November 12, , AM. November 11, , PM. This dynamic is both dangerous and counterproductive; it increases the risk of miscalculation on the Korean Peninsula and squanders an opportunity to press North Korea back into a diplomatic process.

There are no perfect solutions to the challenge North Korea poses. The country has made rapid progress on nuclear weapons that it deems critical to its survival.

Yet the United States has deterred and contained North Korea for decades, preventing another devastating war on the peninsula. This policy approach could reduce the chances of unintended conflict, protect U.

Since the end of the Korean War in , the United States and South Korea have successfully deterred North Korea and prevented a full resumption of hostilities. Yet, across administrations, Washington failed to prevent Pyongyang from advancing its illicit nuclear and ballistic missile programs. Through periods of pressure and periods of relative calm and accommodation, North Korean leaders continued to press forward however they could, despite repeated declarations from the U.

However, the lesson of recent decades is instructive: Diplomacy employed hand-in-hand with pressure has been the only policy that has yielded any results. The more the United States relies on pressure alone and ignores diplomacy, the more North Korea has been able to steadily advance its programs.

North Korea has possessed nuclear weapons since Its arsenal—including a possible hydrogen bomb tested this year 1 —continues to grow, and its ballistic missile technology already can target U.

It is important to be clear eyed about how unlikely it is that North Korea will give up its weapons—ones it sees as the key to survival—without a major change in the status quo. Preventive war involves military action taken to prevent an adversary from achieving a particularly dangerous capability. Advocates of preventive U. First, it will be difficult for a U. An incomplete strike could be met with a devastating North Korean nuclear counterattack. Second, there are no preventive military options that do not run the risk of sparking a broader war, potentially drawing in China, Russia, and U.

The United States also cannot overlook the increasing chances that miscalculation may lead to war. In the past, North Korea has shot down U. Especially with tensions high, even a minor miscalculation by either side could lead to an escalation that may be difficult to control. Either an accident or a so-called limited military strike by either side could quickly escalate into an all-out war that results in the deaths of hundreds of thousands, if not millions. According to a new report by the Congressional Research Service, 25 million people on both sides of the border could be affected, including more than , U.

Additionally, the conflict could potentially turn into a U. Finally, while there is considerable debate over military options, there is little or no talk of what happens the day after a war starts. There is the potential for a collapse of the North Korean state, the consequences of which could include millions of refugees streaming into China and South Korea; nuclear weapons potentially no longer safeguarded by anyone; and a scramble involving the United States, South Korea, and China all rushing to fill the vacuum.

In this regard, the United States needs to learn the lessons of its past wars, including in the Iraq War, where the aftermath proved catastrophic, as well as in the Korean and Vietnam wars, where China and Russia supported U. Potential ongoing and near-term U. North Koreans caught working or living in China are sent to long term ordinary prisons kyohwaso or short-term detention facilities rodong danryeonda.

North Koreans fleeing into China should be protected as refugees sur place because of the certainty of punishment on return.

China fails to meet its obligation to protect refugees as a state party to the Refugee Convention and its protocol. Beijing denies permission to the staff of the UN Refugee Agency to travel to border areas where North Koreans are present.

The North Korean Human Rights Act, which came into effect in September , requires Seoul to implement the recommendations of the COI report, assist North Koreans who escaped their country and South Korean nationals detained in North Korea, and research and publish status reports on human rights conditions in North Korea.

To date, South Korea has still not implemented provisions of that law mandating the creation of a North Korea Human Rights Foundation to fund further investigations and action on rights abuses. Japan continues to demand the return of 12 Japanese citizens whom North Korea abducted in the s and s. Some Japanese civil society groups insist the number of abductees is much higher. The United States government is still the only government in the world that imposes human rights-related sanctions , including on government entities, on Kim Jong-un, and on several other top officials.

China is the most influential international actor in North Korea. Human Rights Watch. World Report Human traffickers and brokers, often linked to government actors, subject women to sexual exploitation and sexual slavery in China, including through forced marriage.

Women face high levels of discrimination and sexual harassment and assault in the workplace, and constant exposure to government-endorsed stereotyped gender roles. State authorities engage in abuses against women and systematically fail to offer protection or justice to women and girls experiencing abuses. China is the most influential international actor in North Korea.

The North Korean Human Rights Act, which came into effect in September , specifically requires the government to implement the recommendations of the COI report, assist North Koreans who escaped their country, and research and publish status reports on human rights in North Korea. To date, however, South Korea has still not created a North Korea Human Rights Foundation, mandated by the law, to fund further investigations and action on rights abuses.

Moon met with Kim and President Trump in an impromptu summit on June 30, , but did not publicly raise human rights issues during the session. Japan continues to demand the return of 12 Japanese citizens whom North Korea abducted in the s and s.

Some Japanese civil society groups insist the number of abductees is much higher. The United States government continues to impose human rights-related sanctions on North Korea, including targeted sanctions on government entities, as well as on Kim Jong Un and on several other top officials.

On December 10, , the Treasury Department added three senior North Korean officials to its sanctions list, and the State Department released a report on serious human rights abuses and censorship in North Korea.