Dr. Mazzar’s Lecture on North Korea

Dr. Mazzar opened his lecture labeling North Korea as a “Regime Out of Control” due to North Korea’s accelerating nuclear program, tendency to make recurring threats, unstable government, and exaggerated rhetoric. Mazzar asserted that they may be headed for disaster and on the edge of collapse, and said the decrepit infrastructure of the country foreshadows this. This was striking to me because I had never before considered the condition of infrastructure of a nation an indicator of their stability or success, but due to the economic implications of a nation’s capability to upkeep their buildings and roads, it makes sense.

Mazzar went on to talk about the tension between N. Korea and S. Korea and the South’s attempts to appeal to them for peace and help them out. South Korea began economically surpassing the North after 2005 and now there is an enormous difference as North Korea has huge populations of people that are in poverty. North Korea is not interested in unification at all; they have provoked South Korea so South Korea is no longer actively pursuing reconciliation.

There are a few factors that make North Korea very hard to predict that Dr. Mazzar labeled as “wildcards.” One wildcard he identified is the possession of nuclear weapons. We speculate that they have a huge arsenal, probably between 80-100 nukes total. There is also a possibility that they have developed submarines that are capable of releasing nukes. However, the pictures North Korea released revealing these submarines were proven to be doctored upon inspection. Another big wildcard is the internal dynamics of the country. Kim Jong-Un promised to rebalance the “bread and butter” of the nation, which means to shift N. Korea’s focus from arms onto economic development. However, North Korea is now essentially a capitalist country with an underground market system in which many of the women of the country are employed since they aren’t required to work for the government. North Koreans now get 80-90% of their stuff from this black marker.

These wildcards bring us to a policy dilemma that surrounds the nation. One option for international relations is an engagement strategy in which nations try to trade with them more and talk to them more. However, this is politically infeasible in the US because North Korea is fearful of the domestic effects any association with the US could have. North Korea has indoctrinated its citizens with a hatred for everything to do with democracy and the United States, so they risk losing face and power over their citizens with every positive interaction with the US. Coercion is another IR strategy that could be used to deal with North Korea, but that risks further instability and provoking North Korea to use their nuclear arms if they feel too threatened.

Mazzar asserts that the best option for dealing with North Korea is pursuing bilateral dialogues, as well as promoting private investment in North Korea since they have begun to allow it. We have to try to open them up in every way we possibly can. If they will allow us to fund development assistance through building schools and providing humanitarian aid, then it is important we do that to start changing North Korean’s perception of Americans as evil and against them. Enhancing contact with North Korean officials and mid-level elites in the nation is also important to improve US-North Korea relations and prevent them from hurting other nations or further deteriorating themselves. How do you think the US should pursue relations with North Korea?