In this issue . . .

North Korea: the Leader of the Pack

For 50 years, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) has been the poster child for rogue states. It has pursued a nuclear weapons program, constructed and exported ballistic missiles, sponsored terrorist acts, allegedly participated in the drug trade and counterfeiting, and posed a continual threat to U.S. allies and interests, resulting in U.S. forces being stationed in South Korea and Japan. It has also been the subject of a policy experiment. Washington has been trying to engage Pyongyang to improve relations and end North Korea's bad behavior. This policy dates back to the Reagan administration, was continued by the Bush administration, and was accelerated by the Clinton administration. According to Gaston Sigur, assistant secretary of state for East Asia and the Pacific in the Reagan administration, "we came to the conclusion that if you're really going to achieve some sort of semblance of peace on the Korean Peninsula, the only way to do that is to take steps to try to open the place."

Engagement has been politically controversial, particularly during the Clinton administration. It is probably here to stay regardless because political trends in Northeast Asia, especially the ongoing rapprochement between South and North Korea, only reinforce the logic. The key question for the new administration is how to shape its engagement policy toward North Korea to further U.S. interests in a region that may be transitioning to some as yet unknown destination from the Cold War confrontation of the past five decades.

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