North Korean Government and Foreign Policy Summer 2014 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: sslee@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. Independence activities under the Japanese colonial rule are 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 emergence of Kim Jong Un. In doing so, consolidation of political leadership, power elites, political ideology, and control over society 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. Discussions on explanatory factors of foreign policy are conducted. Last part of the class is preoccupied with forecasting politics and foreign policy of North Korea after Kim Jong Il s death. The structure of crisis in North Korea is explored as a starting point of forecasting. The crisis structure is characterized by a vicious cycle of crisis, including elements of policy environment (internal and external environments), policy response, and policy performance. Student is strongly encouraged to participate in discussion. II. Grading and Assignments Students are strongly urged to read the required reading materials before class. The final grade is determined by (1) mid-term exam (30%); (2) class participation (attendance: 10%, presentation and participation in class discussion: 10%); and (3) final exam (50%). III. Readings Press, 1998) Kongdan Oh and Ralph C. Hassig, North Korea: Through the Looking Glass (Washington, D.C: Brookings Institution Press, 2000) IV. Weekly Topics and Readings Week 1: Topic: Struggle for Power in North Korea (1945-1960) 2
Press, 1998), PART I, II, III Topic: Construction of Socialist State (1961-70) Press, 1998), PART IV, V Topic: Power Succession Politics (1971-1994) Press, 1998), PART VI Week 2 Topic: Political Leadership of Kim Jong Il Regime Chapter 4, Kongdan Oh and Ralph C. Hassig, North Korea: Through the Looking Glass (Washington, D.C: Brookings Institution Press, 2000) 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 3
Week 3: Topic: Kim Jong Un s Power Succession Process Mark Fitzpatrick, North Korean Security Challenges: A net assessment (London: IISS, 2011), ch. 1, pp. 9-25 Topic: Kim Jong Un Regime s Political StabilityI International Crisis Group, North Korean Succession and the Risks of Instability, Asia Report N230 (25 July 2012) Topic: Kim Jong Un Regime s Political StabilityII Kim Jina, An Analysis of Political Instability in the DPRK: Identity, Interest, and Leader-Elite Relations, The Korean Journal of Defense Analysis, Vol. 25, No. 1 (March 2013), pp. 87-107 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 Kibum Han, North Korea s South Korea Policy: An Evaluation of Determining Variables and Prospects for 2012, International Journal of Korean Unification Studies, Vol. 20, No. 2 (2011), 27-68 Topic: North Korea-the United States Relations (I) 4
Robert A. Scalapino, U.S. Relations with North Korea, Pacific Focus, Vol. XXII, No. 1 (Spring 2007), pp. 5-17 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) Week 6: Topic: The Future of North Korean Nuclear Program: A Simulation of 6 party talks Christopher R. Hill, The Elusive Vision of a Non-nuclear North Korea, The 5
Washington Quarterly (Spring 2013), pp. 7-19 Topic: Forecasting North Korean in the Future Victor D. Cha and Nicholas D. Anderson, A North Korean Spring?, The Washington Quarterly (Winter 2012), pp. 7-24. Topic: Korean Reunification Mark Fitzpatrick, North Korean Security Challenges: A net assessment (London: IISS, 2011), ch. 9, pp.187-205 FINAL 6