Confronting Security Challenges on the Korean Peninsula

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The Korean Peninsula was and is in a state of flux.  More than 60 years after the war that left the country divided, the policies and unpredictability of the North Korean regime, in conjunction with the U.S. alliance with South Korea and the involvement of China in the area, leave the situation there one of the most capricious on the globe.
Confronting Security Challenges on the Korean Peninsula presents the opinions from experts on the subject matter from the policy, military, and academic communities.  Drawn from talks at a conference in September 2010 at Marine Corps University, the papers explore the enduring security challenges, the state of existing political and military relationships, the economic implications of unification, and the human rights concerns within North and South Korea.  They also reiterate the importance for the broader East Asia region of peaceful resolution of the Korean issues.

The panels addressed important issues relevant for both the present and future of the Korean Peninsula that remain important for the analysis and
planning of future military operations and diplomatic relationships.   The peninsula is also an important security pivot in U.S. foreign policy and
military planning in the region—and one that will continue to be the focus of attention for Washington because of the importance of the ROK–U.S.
alliance, and the unpredictable instability of the North Korean regime.
On the first panel, “Strategic Challenges on the Korean Peninsula,” all three of the papers presented are included as chapters in this book.  .All of the
individuals who were kind enough to contribute their chapters to this volume are former active duty U.S. or South Korean military personnel who
continue to contribute to the scholarship relating to Korea through their work with the government and policy communities.
In chapter 2, “North Korea’s Strategy of Compellence, Provocations, and the Northern Limit Line,” Robert M. Collins discusses the discernible
patterns of security policy that North Korea has displayed in recent years.  To do this, he addresses many recent and important issues, such as the
sinking of the ROK Navy corvette Cheonan, North Korea’s brinkmanship and provocations, and possible actions that the ROK–U.S. alliance can take
to deter these actions.
In the second paper (chapter 3) from the first panel, “ee ROK–U.S. Military Alliance: Transformation and Change,” Cheon Seongwhun
suggests a unique and comprehensive approach to strengthening the alliance in light of the complex relationships and history that has existed between
these two great nations. He offers policy recommendations and important perspectives that provide balance and shed light on the political, military,
and cultural issues that play a role in giving us all a better understanding of what many consider to be Washington’s most important security
relationship in East Asia.
Doug Joong Kim, in the third paper from the first panel (chapter 4), discusses how South Korean policy has changed dramatically since the
election of President LeeMyung-bak.Kim makes a compelling case for the school of thought that since President Lee’s inauguration, South Korea has
been far more capable of containing North Korean aggression, of moving closer to its key ally the United States, and improving its stature and
operational readiness as a force for security and stability in Northeast Asia.  

The second panel of the symposium was important because it addressed an issue that has come to the forefront since the revelations of Kim Jongil’s
poor health—“Planning for Contingencies on the Korean Peninsula.” It has now become apparent from recent events in the North, that present and
future planning must involve not only experts from the military, but also the international and geo-political arenas, regional specialists, and various
national and international agencies from both the United States and our allies. It was in the spirit of this important “whole of government approach”
and doctrine that the second panel was convened.
In chapter 5, Joseph S. Bermudez Jr. of Jane’s DefenceWeekly addresses both the conventional and unconventional military threat that North Korea
poses in his composition. Bermudez has written a simply brilliant essay that—by the numbers—destroys many fallacies and rumors about North
Korea’s true military capabilities. Those who have an interest in the North Korean order of battle, combat capabilities, and strategic military agenda,
will find this chapter to be both interesting, and quite compelling.
U.S. Army Colonel David Maxwell, a member of the faculty at the National Defense University and one of the other presenters on the second
panel, has contributed the chapter entitled, “IrregularWarfare on the Korean Peninsula.” In his essay, Colonel  Maxwell, an expert and experienced
military planner and Special Forces officer, seeks to “explore some of the potential outcomes on the Korean Peninsula following either collapse of
the Kim family regime or following conventional and unconventional conflict with North Korea as well as to examine some of the possible ways
to prepare for and deal with those outcomes.”
The third and final panel of the symposium was important because it provided interesting analysis regarding an issue that is not often discussed  at military conferences—human rights. Entitled, “Human Rights and the Future of North Korea,” the panel presents three papers that address this issue from distinctly different perspectives. Our contributors provide chapters that address human rights in North Korea from the diverse perspectives of a human rights activist and scholar, an expert logistician, and a broadly experienced and highly respected journalist.  
In chapter 7, entitled “Understanding North Korea’s Human Rights Abuses,” Chuck Downs, the executive director of the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea, states in part:    “Basic freedoms, even those guaranteed by international agreements the North Korean regime has signed, are routinely denied to North Korea’s citizens. ee regime’s food distribution policy and its  political caste system predetermine that large segments of the     North Korean population receive none of the food provided by international relief agencies and other countries. North Korea’s political prison camps operate with an unmatched level of brutality. Its human rights crisis has serious regional and international consequences; it has caused a flow of refugees who often end up as victims of exploitation, violence, or crime when they cross into neighbouring countries, and China’s approach to this humanitarian crisis is to send the refugees back to the North where they face certain persecution.”
This essay provides a conceptual framework for understanding North Korea’s human rights violations—and gives the reader extremely important  insights.
Don Kirk, a widely respected journalist on East Asian affairs, provides us interesting and insightful analysis in chapter 8, entitled, “Breaking Barriers: ee Media War for North Korea.” He gives us the unique
perspective of one who understands the media—particularly in East Asia— better than almost anyone. His insights will offer the reader ideas and important facts that will shed new light on how the press influences outside views North Korea—and the regime itself. The final chapter addresses an issue that will be very important for both  military planners and non-governmental organizations with a stake in
North Korean human rights. In his essay entitled, “ee ‘Faminist’ State,” George Hutchinson addresses up-to-date data that provides important information regarding North Korea’s constant fight to keep millions of its people from being malnourished. He states in part: Similar to the cycle that started in 1989, the period beginning in 2005 is characterized by increased international isolation, elevated status of the military, and the murkiness associated with North Korean political succession.However, unlike 1989,when the nation  failed to adapt to a world shifting under its feet, it is North Korea that has systematically chosen to shift away from the world since 2005.
In this volume, our authors have given us several important theoretical frameworks, new concepts, and diverse perspectives regarding the security challenges that Washington and its allies now confront on the Korean Peninsula. erough their research and writing, our distinguished scholars, military officers, diplomats, and practitioners have made valuable contributions to the scholarship relating to the security and the stability of the Korean Peninsula, and the threats and challenges that are imminent for the future. In addition to our contributing authors, I would like to thank the gifted designer for this volume, Vincent J.Martinez. It is the hope of the Marine Corps University, the Korea Economic Institute, and the Marine Corps University Foundation—as well as all of the participants from the symposium—that this book will inspire continued interest and motivatefurther analysis within the military and policy communities regarding the security issues now confronting the Korean Peninsula. 

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