북한 핵능력 변천과 대외정책의 상관관계에 대한 연구

A Study on the Correlation Between North Korea’s Nuclearization and Foreign Policy

The purpose of this study is to analyze the effect of upgrading North Korea’s nuclear capability on its foreign policy. After analyzing the North’s escalating nuclear power and its aggressive nuclear strategy under the Kim Jong Un regime, this study will look at how this aspect affected its foreign policy. In particular, since the North’s nuclear capability has been advanced for a long time, it divided its nuclear capability into three stages and analyzed the North’s foreign policy characteristics. The main results of this study are as follows: In the first phase of its nuclear possession, North Korea announces that it possesses nuclear weapons and implements an external threat policy. However, since the nuclear capability is low, it also has a compromise policy in place of negotiations aimed at drawing economic benefits at the same time as the nuclear threat. The second phase of nuclear possession is North Korea’s aggressive pursuit of advancement its nuclear capability and the characteristic of foreign policy is its excessive use of aggressive measure for the completion of nuclear power and its independence from its allies. The third phase of nuclear possession is characteristic of North Korea after it achieved nuclear advancement. While showing signs of improvement and independence in foreign policy, they are actively negotiating with each other in order to create new national interests and expand them greatly based on their confidence of nuclear advancement. The study, which looks at time-specific foreign policies according to the North’s nuclear capability change, is believed to have a small implication in predicting what features the North will display in future negotiations on denuclearization.