The U.S and North Korea Negotiations Paper Example

Operational Problems:

Considering the interests of both the U.S and North Korea, negotiating the breakdown of phases, their timeline and sequencing and the steps required to achieve this goal would present a lot of complications. The process of verifying the steps agreed upon and the process of verification which every party must be satisfied with still presents some major complications which may derail the process of denuclearisation. Moreover, the phase of eliminating the nuclear capabilities and dismantling the infrastructure of the nuclear weapons takes a lot of time hence may be done later, this presents the challenge of trust and whether these nations will honour the agreement and complete this phase at a later date.

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Realistically, the processes involved in denuclearization are time-consuming, and there may be a change of heart later which may not see through this denuclearization process. The process of monitoring and verification of nuclear weapons is a complicated political and technical challenge. This follows as a large country like North Korea lack numerous information to assist in the process of validation assessment. There are little activities conducted by the North Koreans that the U.S or its allies can consistently detect. The issue regarding verification presents complications considering the country may decide to hide some of its nuclear weapons which would ultimately derail and maybe end the process of denuclearization.

Political Problems:

In the U.S, appreciating the power related to verification may present a political challenge. North Korea aims at the whole world discovering their might in nuclear weapons hence the destruction of those weapons is highly unlikely considering they have other political ambitions. North Korea has political ambitions hence denuclearizing would probably mean redirecting its scientific manpower into another area of research with the aim of developing something more complicated than nuclear weapons. Moreover, there are also possibilities that North Korea may decide to transport their weapons to an ally or continue building nuclear weapons offshore. The fact that North Korea's ballistic missiles could target the U.S presents a complication in that the U.S could focus on defending itself rather than concentrating on its vulnerable allies like South Korea.

In 2005, North Korea had not yet discovered and tested the full capabilities of the ballistic missiles they had, now that they have the infrastructure to sustain these weapons present a major challenge to anyone who attempts to stop their international ambition. Another complex challenge is the fact that the agreement is one-sided considering the U.S and its allies target North Korea's nuclear capability without them stating what they would offer in return. For the United States, the list of things they wish stopped in North Korea would include stopping the production of tritium and plutonium, stopping all uranium-related activities outside Yongbyon nuclear centre and further initiating steps which would ensure North Korea stop making their nuclear arsenal. On the other hand, it would involve demanding the U.S stop using overflights of B-52 bombers during military exercises and taming such exercises and its orientation which would not go well with the U.S.

Policy Recommendations:

The united states have the responsibility of protecting its allies against nations which try to bully them like in the case of North Korea. Instead of putting a lot of focus on the U.S nuclear deterrent, it is mandatory the United States form long-term policies that help its allies like Japan and South Korea that help them effectively deal with threats from North Korea and the Chinese. These issues may seem of small-scale, but they matter, therefore, the U.S. should create consultations with both South Korea and Japan to compare notes on both global and regional trends; moreover, the U.S should explore how these issues affect the investment on military weapons, national threat perceptions, and mission priorities. Improving cooperation between both Japan and South Korea towards strategic and policy planning is vital as it improves their confidence. This is the only way that allies can reduce the fear of security hence reduce arms racing. The U.S must stay committed to her deterrence campaign to avoid arms racing and for nations to maintain their trusts that the U.S will protect them from armed nations like North Korea.

Implementation Issues:

Implementing policies that are against arms racing will not be taken lightly by other states who have already armed themselves. Addressing the issue of implementation and commitment has proven to be a challenge. This follows as the nations involved in arms race commit to disarm but achieving the objective is not done within the shortest time. There is too much doubt from nations since they are sceptical on the effectiveness of the disarmament efforts considering nothing has been achieved in 20 years since the exercise began.

Political:

The process of disarmament is not easy because nations do not trust one another and feel the campaign for disarmament may be a plot to render them helpless against their enemies whom they think may have already developed and produced their nuclear weapons. Nations like North Korea feel the disarmament stand taken by the United States may be a plot to derail their political influence and position considering they have relations all over Africa and are on their way to becoming a superpower hence some European nations and America is trying to sabotage their increasing dominance.

Technical:

There are technical issues associated with this issue considering disarmament is a process and not something that can take place overnight. Moreover, not every country will be honest enough to surrender all the nuclear weapons they have and detecting whether some weapons are held back may present some challenges. Another challenge that may be experienced from disarmament is dismantling of nuclear weapons due to the current safety and security requirements; additionally, the process is rather demanding and time-consuming.

Economic:

Nations which have armed themselves with nuclear missiles are a little hesitant to disarm considering the costs associated with the process. There are millions of dollars associated with the production, maintenance, and development of nuclear weapons hence the nations feel they will be at a loss. Some countries like China feel they are slowly becoming an economic powerhouse considering most African nations go to them for help hence they need to have an advantage over the other nations to achieve their ambitions. In case North Korea refused to heed to calls for disarmament, economic sanctions would be a viable step to take.

Contingency Plans:

The process of disarmament may present some challenges, and it may not be successful due to the various challenges discussed above; therefore, it is necessary that a contingency plan is formulated in case the plans made fail. In case the discussion with North Korea failed regarding disarmament, then the best way to move forward would be to bomb the strategic areas where the development of nuclear weapons is manufactured.