The North Korean missiles: A military threat or a survival kit?

North Korea has acquired weapons of mass destruction and missiles to delive r then, but has not been able to modernize its armed forces and its convent ional warfare capability has deteriorated Not simply a scheme to gain inter national aid and hard cash, the missile program has thus come to assume a s trategic position for Pyongyang. This article outlines the history of the missile program, takes a look at m issile capabilities, and discusses implications such as the threat perceive d by Japan and the United States, sales to the Middle East and South Asia, and their value as a shield against outside pressure. Above all, they help ensure the survival gf the Pyongyang regime. The article goes on to detail American policy responses including TMD, conventional deterrence including preemptive strikes (not appropriate for the Korean situation), the MTCR, an d the negotiation track. For South Korea, the author suggests a combination of deterrence through enhanced missile capability of its own and continued engagement policy. North Korea is consistent with its pattern of flexing military muscle then demanding a price. So long as this keeps working, Pyongyang is unlikely to dismantle its missile program. The only possible trade-off might be the com bination of US forces withdrawal and South Korea's gradual political submis sion-too high a price. North Korea thus will not relinquish its leverage-ba rring a major change domestically that could possibly call for a broader pe nce dividend but that may not be possible without a genuine reconciliation based on peaceful coexistence.