North Korea and the Arms Issue with the U.N.

1. North Korea and the Arms Issue with the U.N. “A serious threat to the peace-loving nations of the world” By Larry Stendebach

2. The Problem • North Korea has devolved nuclear weaponry, which completely violates the UN resolutions and sanction on North Korea. • North Korea's long-range missile development and research into nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons and massive conventional armed forces are of major concern to the international community. • By developing this nuclear arsenal, North Korea is in direct violation of international law and pose a serious threat to the world.

3. Thesis The situation between the UN and North Korea is beginning to escalate to dangerous levels. North Korea’s nuclear developments violate UN resolutions and it is time for the UN to set a precedence with North Korea to show the world that UN resolutions are legitimate laws and not just empty threats. It is time for the UN, not just the United States, to take action against violators of UN international law, and with North Korea’s violent history and militant society, invasion may be the only feasible solution to this ever growing threat to the peace-loving nations of the world.

4. The History Aug. 15, 1945 - Korean Peninsula splits into communist North Korea and U.S.-backed South Korea following end of Japanese colonial rule. June 25, 1950 - Korean War erupts with the invasion of South Korea by North Korea. U.S. spearheads defense of South Korea under flag of the United Nations. July 27, 1953 - Korean War ends, armistice is signed by North Korea, China and United States representing the South, restoring the border at the 38th parallel. Jan. 21, 1968 - A 31-member North Korean commando unit reaches Seoul in a failed attempt to kill then-South Korean president Park Chung-hee. All but one is killed. Jan. 23, 1968 - The USS Pueblo is attacked and captured with its crew of 82 in the Sea of Japan off North Korea's east coast. One American sailor is killed in the attack. Commander Lloyd Bucher, of the USS Pueblo, spent one year in North Korean captivity. July 4, 1972 - The two Koreas issue a joint communique, agreeing to achieve peaceful reunification of their peninsula. Aug. 15, 1974 - A North Korean agent attempts to assassinate President Park Chung-hee in Seoul, but kills the First Lady instead. Oct. 9, 1983 - North Korean commandos attack South Korean ministers in Rangoon, Burma, now known as Myanmar, killing 18 officials, including four ministers. Nov. 29, 1987 - A Korean Air Lines jet is bombed by North Korean agents, killing all 115 abroad. Sept. 4, 1990 - Prime ministers of two Koreas hold talks for the first time. Sept. 18, 1991 - North Korea joins the United Nations along with South Korea.

5. History Two December 1991 - North Korean Prime Minister Yon Hyong-muk visits Seoul via Panmunjom truce village and the two Koreas sign an agreement on reconciliation, non-aggression and exchanges and cooperation. June 15-18, 1994 - Former President Jimmy Carter visits North Korea and its leader, Kim Il-sung, proposes a summit with South Korean President Kim Young-sam. July 8, 1994 - Kim Il-sung, who had ruled North Korea for 46 years, dies of a heart attack just before the summit, which is canceled. Sept. 18, 1996 - A North Korean submarine with 26 commandos and crew runs aground on the east coast of South Korea. Twenty-four are killed, one is captured and one escapes. Eleven of the group are believed to have died in group suicide. April 18, 1999 - The first high-level meeting in four years between the two Koreas collapses in Beijing after North Korea refuses to discuss the reunion of separated families. March 17, 2000 - Two Koreas start secret talks in China on an inter-Korean summit. June 14, 2000 - South Korean President Kim Dae-jung and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il hold landmark summit in Pyongyang and produce a pact to reduce tension on the divided peninsula and to hold reunions of families torn apart by the Korean War. Aug. 17, 2000 - Two hundred elderly Koreans from families divided by the Cold War hold reunions in Seoul and Pyongyang. Further reunions are held in November and February. Sept. 15, 2000 - Athletes from both Koreas march together at the opening ceremony of the Sydney Olympics. Oct. 13, 2000 - South Korean leader Kim Dae-jung receives the Nobel Peace Prize. Oct. 23, 2000 - Putting aside a half-century of acrimony, U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il engage in talks aimed at laying the groundwork for a visit by U.S. President Bill Clinton to one of the last bastions of the Cold War.

6. History Three Feb. 8, 2001 - North and South Korea agree to reconnect a railway across their heavily-armed border and clear land mines as part of a 41-point agreement, which also calls for opening a hotline between the two militaries, marked another milestone in thawing relations between the two once-hostile countries. March 2001 - North Korea indefinitely postpones ministerial talks with South Korea after new U.S. President George W. Bush places policy toward North Korea under review and voices doubts over whether Kim Jong-il can be trusted to honor agreements. Jan. 29, 2002 - In State of the Union address, Bush brands North Korea, Iran and Iraq an "axis of evil" threatening the world with weapons of mass destruction. North Korea says the remarks are tantamount to a declaration of war. Feb. 19, 2002 - Bush visits South Korea for third summit with President Kim Dae-jung, appealing for talks with North Korea while criticizing Pyongyang for neglecting its hungry people in favor of maintaining a huge army. March 14, 2002 - Twenty-five North Koreans stage mass defection to South Korea through the Spanish embassy in Beijing, throwing a spotlight on the plight of tens of thousands of people hiding in China after fleeing famine and repression in the North. April 3, 2002 - South's Lim Dong-won flies to North Korea and holds talks with the North's ruling Workers Party official Kim Yong-sun. North Korea says "not only the U.S. but the South side are to blame" for deadlock in Korean ties. Oct. 16, 2002 - The White House announces that North Korea has admitted that it has a secret nuclear weapons program. The startling disclosure changes the political landscape in East Asia, setting back hopes that North Korea was on the road to becoming a more benign presence in the region. Dec. 12, 2002 - North Korea says it will immediately revive a Soviet-designed nuclear power plant the United States suspects was being used to develop nuclear weapons before it was frozen in 1994. A dismayed South Korea urges its neighbor to reverse the decision.

7. History Four Dec. 13, 2002 - North Korea asks the U.N. nuclear watchdog to remove monitoring seals and cameras from its nuclear facilities. Dec. 14, 2002 - The U.N. International Atomic Energy Agency urges North Korea to retract its decision to reactivate its nuclear facilities and abide by its obligations under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. Dec. 21, 2002 - North Korea removes monitoring seals and cameras from its nuclear facilities. Jan. 10, 2003 - North Korea withdraws from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. Feb. 6, 2003 - North Korea says it has reactivated its nuclear facilities. April 24, 2003 - During talks with U.S. officials in Beijing, North Korea says it has nuclear weapons and may test, export or use them, depending on U.S. actions, according a senior American official. May 12, 2003 - North Korea backs out of the only remaining legal obligation blocking its nuclear ambitions, a 1992 pact with South Korea to keep the peninsula free of nuclear weapons. The North's official news agency cites a "sinister" U.S. agenda as the reason.

8. The Solution North Korea’s society is highly militant to the point in which the general public is sacrificed for the military. North Korea relies heavily on international food aid to feed its population, while continuing to expend resources to maintain an army of about 1 million. Thus, North Korea’s main objective is a strong military foundation, furthermore, the North Korean’s are very willing to use their military might, as seen throughout their history. This makes them very dangerous culture to the rest of the world. After the Korean Conflict, the UN placed restrictions on North Koreas military abilities to weaken the potential danger North Korea is to the world. The North Korean have now broken those international laws by developing a nuclear arsenal and are now threatening other countries, such as Japan, America, and South Korea. The situation is quickly becoming critical and something must be done to prevent a crisis.

9. Solution (Cont) The solution I propose is the most efficient solution to the problem at hand, given North Korea’s history, its society, and the current problem. I believe the only way to solve this problem is for the UN to assemble a military force from multiple UN nations and prepare for an invasion. The UN would then give the North Korea an ultimatum. This would be • For North Korea to stop any production of nuclear weaponry. • Allow the UN to come in a confiscate the current stockpile and remove them. • The leader of North Korea Kim Jong-il, who is responsible for the development programs be removed from office and tried under the fullest extend in an international court. Most likely, due to the North Korean’s militant nature, this ultimatum will be rejected. At this time the UN MUST attack will full force. This will show that UN law is law and that the UN is a powerful establishment and not simply a powerless gang of figureheads. For example, if you have children, and you tell the not to play will a knife and they DO play with it what would you do? Most likely you would punish them for breaking the rule you laid down for them; for, if you didn’t punish your children for misbehaving there would be no reason for the children to obey. Your rules would never be followed. This situation is no different, because North Korea has defied the UN time and time again, it is time for the UN to back its “rules” with punishment, so that their “rules” will be followed around the world. And in this case given the North Korean’s History, an invasion is the only workable punishment.

10. Theme Connections This situation demonstrates all of the 6 AP themes. It shows the political structure of North Korea and how that political structure has chosen to violate UN international law. Furthermore, that government has focused on military at the expense of the citizens. The government of North Korea has damaged the economy of North Korea to the point where all the money goes toward the military and the citizens rely heavily on foreign aid. This has had an effect on the social structure in that military personal are the social hierarchy, and there is a very giant gap between the pore and the rich. North Korean society consists of many religious groups including Buddhism and Confucianism, some Christianity and syncretic Chondogyo. Autonomous religious activities now almost nonexistent and government-sponsored religious groups exist to provide illusion of religious freedom. North Korea does have some advanced technologies and a very large amount of uranium mines. From their militant society they have created advanced military technologies, including the illegal nuclear weapons. North Korea’s militant society has created violent interactions with other societies. North Korea also has a rivalry with South Korea due to their differing political systems and their failed military conquests in the past.

11. Bibliography Christopher Torchia “Nuclear Crisis Builds” Associated Press. January 10, 2003. http://abcnews.go.com/sections/world/DailyNews/nkorea_withdraws030110.html Elise Labott and Lisa Rose Weaver . “U.N. agency to rebuke N. Korea” January 3, 2003. http://edition.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/asiapcf/east/01/03/nkorea.us/ “Korean Plant Puzzles Nuke Experts.” CBS OnlineFebruary 1, 2003 http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/12/10/world/main532546.shtml “NK warns of 'horrifying disasters” CNN Online. March 2, 2003 http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/asiapcf/east/03/02/nkorea.warning Tucker, Spencer. “Korean War: Volume II.” Library of Congress 57 Copyright 2000 “US ups the ante over N Korean 'nukes‘” Associated Press. Mon 28 Apr 2003. http://news.ninemsn.com.au/World/story_28276.asp