Part of Indo-Pacific Security

The North Korea Threat

Nearly seven decades have passed since the Korean Armistice Agreement was signed, yet the Korean Peninsula is still divided and an authoritarian dictatorship in Pyongyang frequently threatens to destabilize the region.

The primary areas of focus for the Indo-Pacific Security Program in 2021 include developing innovative recommendations for the new Biden Administration to consider that will encourage North Korean denuclearization and assessing alternative policy tools, should North Korea continue to expand its nuclear arsenal.

In a series of five papers, CNAS has developed a comprehensive “diplomacy handbook” to strengthen U.S. engagement with North Korea if Pyongyang takes concrete steps toward denuclearization and to mitigate risk in alternative scenarios. This handbook is intended to equip policymakers with creative and specific recommendations for tension reduction measures and to help establish a more durable peace that promotes U.S. interests in the region.

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