The Transformation Of The Bush Administration's Policy Towards The North Korea

Since 1990s, the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula has been the focus between the U.S. and the North Korea. So far, two severe nuclear proliferation crisises on the Peninsula have broken out. The first one happened in March 1993, and the second in October 2002. The policy of comprehensive engagement with the North Korea adopted by the Clinton Administration eased the crisis to a certain extent. However, when the Bush Administration came into power, it totally negated the contact policy of the Clinton Administration and adopted a hard-line policy towards the North Korea. It called the North Korea "axis of evil" and listed it as the one of the objects of preemptive attack of the U.S. This policy didn't succeed to make the North Korea give up its nuclear plan. Quite on the contrary, the North Korea adopted even a harder attitude towards the hard-line policy. The situation on the Korean Peninsula was very tense. The nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula is not only an issue between the U.S. and the North Korea, but also involves the security of China, Russia, Japan and the South Korea. Those countries have a common goal that is to urge the North Korea to stop its nuclear activities so as to remain lasting peace and stability of the Korean Peninsula and the Northeast Asian Region. Therefore, the policy on the nuclear issue of the Korean Peninsula taken by the Bush Administration has to become friendly and pragmatic.Except for the introduction, this dissertation analyses and explores the evolution of the policies on the nuclear issue of the Korean Peninsula taken by the Bush Administration. Chapter one is about the origin of nuclear issue of the North Korea, the first nuclear proliferation crisis on the Korean Peninsula and the fully contact policy of the Clinton Administration. Chapter two analyses the hard-line policy of the Bush Administration of its first term. The Jorge W. Bush declared to adjust the former President Clinton's course of action towards the North Korea in 2001 the very moment he came into power. His government positioned the North Korea on the international "axis of evil" and listed it as the one of the objects of preemptive attack of the U.S..The Bush Administration emphasized the principle towards the North Korea symbolizing weapon first and benefits later, while the North Korea took an even harder attitude. As a result, the second nuclear proliferation crisis on the Korean Peninsula exploded. Chapter three is about the plights the Bush administration facing and the factors which led to its transformation of the hard policy towards the North Korea. Chapter four is about the flexible and pragmatic policy on the North Korean nuclear issue of the Bush Administration at its second term. During this period, three bilateral talks between the U.S. and the North Korea were held in Berlin, New York and Geneva in January , March and September 2007 successively. Through the six-party talks, six countries have achieved three agreements, they are "9·19 Joint Declaration", "2·13 Document" and "10·3 Document". Chapter five analyses the favorable changes because of the pragmatic policy. The North Korea submitted the list of its nuclear programs, destroyed the Yongbyon Nuclear Cooling Tower, while the U.S. stopped applied the Trading with the Enemy Act against the North Korea, and removed the North Korea from the list of countries supporting terrorism. Through the multilateral frame of six-party talks and the joint efforts made by the concerned countries, the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula may have a brilliant future.