U.S. policy toward North Korea: where to go next?

Abstract President Obama offered to extend a hand to those who were “willing to unclench [their] fist,” and promised a clear, consistent, cooperative, and consultative approach to achieve Korean peninsula denuclearization. Unfortunately, Pyongyang chose not to cooperate, deciding instead to challenge the new American leader, in the form of a “satellite launch” that created a crisis where none would have otherwise existed. The reasons why Pyongyang chose to go down this path remain open to wide speculation. But the United States, the Republic of Korea (ROK), and others must now assume that Pyongyang has made the “strategic decision” not to give up its nuclear weapons and must now deal with this reality. What is needed now is a clearly expressed policy of containment aimed at keeping what is in North Korea in North Korea and which keeps out anything else that would help the regime develop its nuclear or missile capabilities. This does not mean that Washington is prepared to recognize North Korea as a nuclea...