THE NORTH-KOREAN NUCLEAR ISSUE AND EAST-ASIAN REGIONAL SECURITY

This paper analyzes a notable regional security issue, the North Korea n nuclear weapons program, from the perspective of post-Cold War East Asian regional development. It explores how historical and structural conditions have informed and decided this issue's initiation and evolu tion. If concludes that North Korea has actually exploited this issue for political and economic purposes, rather than adopted it as a milit ary option. It also depicts the current form of security relationship in the region, and especially examines the interplay between post-Cold War realignment and traditional security patterns as reflected in thi s issue. Based on this analysis, the current, transitional configurati on of regional security can be described as a combination of great pow er dominance, undeveloped multilateralism, a continuing Cold War conta inment coalition, and limited regionalist efforts.