August 2012
"Assessing the Role of Security Assurances in Dealing with North Korea"
Book Chapter
By John S. Park, Associate, Project on Managing the Atom
This chapter examines the relationship between security assurances and North Korean nuclear decision-making by focusing on four key areas: key geopolitical shocks that had a major impact on the North Korean regime; main sources of security assurances for North Korea over its history; this volume's hypotheses on security assurances based on how North Korea reacted to geopolitical shocks; and conditions under which security assurances may be most effective in dealing with North Korea in the future.
AP Photo/Vincent Yu, File
April 16, 2012
John Park on North Korea After Kim Jong-il
In the News
By John S. Park, Associate, Project on Managing the Atom
John Park, research fellow with the Belfer Center's Project on Managing the Atom/International Security Program, is interviewed by CNN, NPR, and other media about the regional and global impact of the death of North Korea's Kim Jong-il.
AP Photo
December 19, 2011
"The Fog of the Post–Kim Jong-il Period"
Q&A
By John S. Park, Associate, Project on Managing the Atom
John Park, a senior program officer who directs USIP's Korea Working Group, analyzes the key policy issues arising from the sudden death of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il on December 17.
AP Photo
October 12, 2011
"Mr. Lee Goes to Washington"
Policy Memo
By John S. Park, Associate, Project on Managing the Atom
"Amid setbacks and chronic challenges in almost every major region, Washington views South Korea as a linchpin on a global scale. From hosting the G20 summit in 2010 to preparing to host the next Nuclear Security Summit in 2012, South Korea has been establishing itself as a global partner in addressing common challenges, ranging from rebalancing the international economy to preventing the use of nuclear materials for terrorist attacks. For President Lee, the state visit is an important opportunity to demonstrate South Korea’s unique role as a bridge between the developed and developing countries."
AP Photo
September 28, 2010
"North Korea's Leadership Succession: The China Factor"
Policy Memo
By John S. Park, Associate, Project on Managing the Atom
On September 28, North Korean state media announced that Kim Jong-il's third son, Kim Jong-eun, was promoted to the rank of four-star general just prior to the opening of the Workers' Party of Korea conference. Kim Jong-eun was later named vice chairman of the Party's Central Military Commission at the conference. These important developments follow the late August meeting between Chinese President Hu Jintao and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il in Changchun, near the Sino-DPRK border, which appears to have cleared the way for this Party conference. After the meeting, both countries' state media reported the leaders' support for the rising generation of the Party — a clear reference to Kim Jong-eun.
AP Photo
May 20, 2010
"After the Cheonan Investigation Report: What's Next?"
Policy Memo
By John S. Park, Associate, Project on Managing the Atom
"While few observers take North Korea's threat of an all-out war seriously, many experts are concerned that the sinking of the Cheonan may be indicative of a North Korea that is emboldened by its perception of itself as a nuclear power that can now carry out limited strikes without fear of large-scale retaliation."
AP Photo
April 2010
"The Sinking of South Korea's Naval Vessel: A Major Turning Point"
Policy Memo
By John S. Park, Associate, Project on Managing the Atom
"Many in South Korea have already reached their own conclusion — the Cheonan incident is a stark reminder that North Korea remains a clear and present danger. A growing South Korean view is that more than a decade of nuclear drama, food shortages, starvation, borderline economic collapse, and currency reform debacles, followed by bailouts from progressive South Korean governments and the Communist Party of China has made the international community complacent about the direct military threat that North Korea poses. The Cheonan is a wake-up call."
AP Photo
December 8, 2009
"America and China Diverge on a Shared Korean Goal"
Op-Ed, Financial Times
By John S. Park, Associate, Project on Managing the Atom and Drew Thompson
"...if China continues to prioritise friendly commercial relations with North Korea and Iran, it will threaten its own long-term security. A chronically proliferating North Korea would provoke Japan to reassess the need for a nuclear deterrent, while a nuclear-armed Iran could destabilise the Gulf and global energy markets. Crafting an approach that includes a sustained US-China engagement to clarify each side's intent, provides for China's energy security and maintains a focus on the threat of nuclear proliferation in North Korea and Iran is more likely to achieve our shared non-proliferation goals."
January 3, 2008
"Keeping an Eye on an Unruly Neighbor: Chinese Views of Economic Reform and Stability in North Korea"
Working Paper
By Bonnie Glaser, Scott Snyder and John S. Park, Associate, Project on Managing the Atom
"Beijing viewed North Korea's explosion of a nuclear device in October 2006 as not only an act of defiance to the international community and a threat to regional stability, but also an act of defiance toward China. Chinese officials admit that their toolbox for managing the North Korean nuclear weapons challenge must now include a combination of pressure and inducements."
Autumn 2005
"Inside Multilateralism: The Six-Party Talks"
Journal Article, Washington Quarterly, issue 4, volume 28
By John S. Park, Associate, Project on Managing the Atom
Despite extensive diplomatic efforts to facilitate the six-party talks, domestic policy constraints, differing priorities, and conflicting historical analogies among each of the countries have brought vastly differing perspectives to the multilateral negotiating table.
