North Korean Government and Foreign Policy Summer 2015 Professor Seok-soo Lee Department of International Relations Research Institute for National Security Affairs (RINSA) Korea National Defense University Tel: 300-4200, 2156, E-mail: lssoo@kndu.ac.kr I. Course Description This course is designed to enable students to better understand North Korean politics and foreign policy. Toward such ends, students will acquire knowledge about (1) Historical development of North Korean politics under Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il regime (2) Kim Jong Il s death and power succession to Kim Jong Un; (3) North Korea s foreign relations with major powers; and (4) prospects for the future of North Korea. Understanding North Korea is critical for students of international relations with a focus on East Asia and the Korean Peninsula. It became more so due to Kim Jong Il s sudden death in December 2011. While the course is going to cover the rise to power of Kim Il Sung and his son and 3 rd hereditary power transition to Kim Jong Un, we will also analyze the inter-korean relations and North Korea s foreign relations with key regional powers such as the United States, China, Japan and Russia. Given the reclusive nature of North Korea, however, discerning change is always a challenge. It is hoped that students who take this class will be able to have a better grasp of the nature of the North Korean regime, its foreign policy, and contrasting future scenarios. The course is mainly divided into three parts. The first part put focus on the politics of North Korea. The Japanese colonial period is first traced to have background knowledge of state-build up and power struggle in North Korea since National Liberation in 1945. Against this backdrop, this class overviews historical evolution of Kim Il Sung s power consolidation, Kim Jong Il s politics and the political succession of Kim Jong Un. In doing so, consolidation of political leadership, control over power elites and society and political institutions and ideology are closely examined. 1
The second part of the class is devoted to North Korea s foreign policy. Diplomacy has played an important role for political regime resilience and economic survival. It seems that North Korea attempts to achieve core national interests by nuclear diplomacy. The second part consists of overview of North Korea s foreign policy, investigation into the five pairs of bilateral relations (inter-korean, North Korea-the United States, China, Japan, Russia), and in-dept analysis of North Korea s nuclear diplomacy. Last part of the class is preoccupied with forecasting politics and foreign policy of North Korea in the future. The part discusses expected policies and the political stability of the Kim Jong-un regime as a starting point of forecasting. II. Grading and Assignments Students are strongly urged to read the required reading materials before class. The final grade is determined by (1) class participation (attendance and participation in class discussion: 10%, presentation and participation: 10%); (2) mid-term exam (40%); and (3) final essay (40%). III. Readings University Press, 1998) Kongdan Oh and Ralph C. Hassig, North Korea: Through the Looking Glass (Washington, D.C: Brookings Institution Press, 2000) Ralph Hassig and Kongdan Oh, The Hidden People of North Korea (Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2009) Ken E. Gause, North Korean Leadership Dynamics and Decision-making under Kim Jong-un: A Second Year Assessment (CNA, March 2014) IV. Weekly Topics and Readings Week 1: Topic: Struggle for Power in North Korea (1945-1960) 2
University Press, 1998), PART I, II, III Topic: Construction of Socialist State and Power Succession Process (1961-94) University Press, 1998), PART IV, V, VI Topic: Power Succession Politics (1971-1994) University Press, 1998), PART VI Week 2 Topic: Governance of Kim Jong Il Daniel Byman and Jennifer Lind, Pyongyang s Survival Strategy: Tools of Authoritarian Control in North Korea, International Security, Vol.35, No. 1 (Summer 2010), pp. 44-74 Topic: Juche Ideology Chapter 2, Kongdan Oh and Ralph C. Hassig, North Korea: Through the Looking Glass (Washington, D.C: Brookings Institution Press, 2000) Topic: Military First Politics of Kim Jong Il Chapter 5, Kongdan Oh and Ralph C. Hassig, North Korea: Through the Looking Glass (Washington, D.C: Brookings Institution Press, 2000) Topic: State-Society Relations under Kim Jong Il Regime Chung Young Chul, Society in Disarray: Crime Corruption and Deepening Cognitive Dissonance in North Korea, Global Asia, Vol. 4, No. 2 (Summer 2009), pp. 26-32 Week 3: 3
Topic: Kim Jong Un s Power Succession Process Cheong Seong-chang, The Anatomy of Kim Jong Un s Power, Global Asia, Vol. 9, No. 1 (Spring 2014), pp. 8-13 Jung Chang-hyun, The Execution of Jang Song Thaek: Consolidating Power Pyongyang-Style, Global Asia, Vol. 9, No. 1 (Spring 2014), pp. 8-13 Topic: Kim Jong Un Regime s Political Stability International Crisis Group, North Korean Succession and the Risks of Instability, Asia Report N230 (25 July 2012) Topic: Kim Jong Un Regime s Grand National Strategy Han Taek Sung and Jeon Kyung Joo, Can North Korea Catch Two Rabbits at Once: Nuke and Economy?, The Korean Journal of Defense Analysis, Vol. 26, No. 2 (June 2014), pp. 133-153 MID-TERM Week 4: Topic: Understanding North Korean Foreign Policy Byung Chul Koh, Understanding North Korean Foreign Policy: An Overview, in Byung Chul Koh ed. North Korea and the World (Seoul: Kyungnam University Press, 2004), pp. 1-33 Topic: South-North Korean Relations An Overview of Inter-Korean Relations, The National Committee on North Korea (NCNK) Issue Brief David C. Kang, The North Korean Issue, Park Geun-hye s Presidency, and the Possibility of Trust-building on the Korean Peninsula, International Journal of Korean Unification Studies, Vol. 22, No. 1 (2013), pp. 1-21. 4
Topic: North Korea-the United States Relations (I) Kyung-Ae Park, North Korean Strategies in the Asymmetric Nuclear Conflict with the United States, Asian Perspective, Vol. 34, No. 1 (2010), pp. 11-47. Topic: North Korea-the United States Relations (II) Victor D. Cha, What do They Really Want?: Obama s North Korea Conundrum, The Washington Quarterly (October 2009), pp. 119-138 Week 5: Topic: Video presentation and Discussion Topic: North Korea-China Relations International Crisis Group, Fire on the City Gate: Why China Keeps North Korea Close, Asia Report N254, 9 December 2013 Topic: North Korea-Japan Relations International Crisis Group, Japan and North Korea: Bones of Contention, Asia Report N100-27 June 2005 DPRK-Japan Joint Statement in September 2002 Topic: North Korea-Russia Relations International Crisis Group, North Korea-Russia Relations: A Strained Friendship, Asia Briefing NN71 (4 December 2007) Alexander Vorontsov, Is Russia-North Korea Cooperation at a New Stage? http://38north.org/2014/05/avorontsov050814/print/ Week 6: Topic: Forecasting North Korean in the Future 5
Victor D. Cha and Nicholas D. Anderson, A North Korean Spring?, The Washington Quarterly (Winter 2012), pp. 7-24. Topic: Shifting Northeast Asia Security Dynamics and North Korea s New Foreign Relations Ihn-hwi Park, A Historical Contingency?: North Korea s New Leadership Meets the Rise of China and the U.S. Re-engagement Policy, International Journal of Korean Unification Studies, Vol. 21, No. 1 (2012), pp. 75-98. Topic: Korean Reunification Mark Fitzpatrick, North Korean Security Challenges: A net assessment (London: IISS, 2011), ch. 9, pp.187-205 FINAL 6