Experts: US emphasizes deterrence over denuclearization in North Korea policy

As North Korea's nuclear and missile capabilities advance, U.S. experts observe a shift in U.S. diplomacy from aiming for denuclearization to focusing on deterrence, News.Az reports citing Voice of America.

Officially, the U.S. State Department insists that denuclearization remains the primary goal of the United States and South Korea, a policy that is unlikely to change regardless of the outcome of the November U.S. presidential election.

But in a series of email interviews with VOA Korean, more than half a dozen experts said they saw scant hope that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un could be persuaded to give up his growing nuclear arsenal and that the U.S. must concentrate instead on seeing that it is never used.

"I think, in practical terms, most Americans believe we have little choice at this point but to prioritize deterrence, at least for the foreseeable future," said Michael O'Hanlon, director of foreign policy research at the Brookings Institution in Washington, in an email to VOA Korean this week.

Robert Peters, research fellow for nuclear deterrence and missile defense at the Heritage Foundation, told VOA Korean via email that American politicians on both sides of the political spectrum are questioning whether North Korea would even consider abandoning its nuclear weapons.

"I think there is little appetite in either political party to seek denuclearization with North Korea, given the failures of the late 2010s," Peters said, referring to the collapse of the nuclear talks between former U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, who met three times in 2018 and 2019.

"I think all sides recognize that Kim will not give up nuclear weapons at any price."

News.Az