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Article Type: Research paper
Purpose-We suggest that the international community's focus needs to shift from traditional security concerns (the nuclear program) to non-traditional (humanitarian concerns) as an avenue to engage in dialogue on improving living conditions for North Koreans within with the country and ensuring a lasting peace in Northeast Asia.
Approach-This article draws on analysis of policy documents, current developments regarding the North Korean nuclear program, and comparative case studies to support its underlying argument.
Findings-This article finds that a change in approach towards a nuclear North Korea aligns with Chinese and other regional actors' interests for regional stability and allows for a concerted effort to use non-traditional security issues to shape traditional regional security concerns.
Practical Implications-These findings are significant because the international community is on the verge of either accepting that the DPRK is a nuclear power or possibly opting for military intervention on the country's nuclear program. Consequently, it is important to understand that a nuclear North Korea is more likely to be bound by the obligations of being a "normal state," including support for issues related to the human security of its citizens.
Originality-This study draws on qualitative evidence, historical precedent, and contemporary comparative cases to offer an original perspective on the North Korean nuclear crisis. Instead of further sanctions, this article argues that North Korea is already a nuclear state and that the international community should focus on encouraging the positive outcomes that this might offer to the people of North Korea, and the East Asia region.
Keywords: human security, North Korea, nuclear question, refugee, socialization
Introduction
The security situation in Northeast Asia deteriorated rapidly in late 2017, as North Korea (DPRK) conducted a series of inter-continental ballistic missile (ICBM) launches and the country's sixth nuclear test, while its leader, Kim Jong-un, engaged in a war of words with U.S. President Donald Trump. Although renewed interKorean dialogue focusing on North Korean participation in the P'yöngch'ang Olympics brought a welcome reprieve from the threat of war, the nuclear issue will again return to the forefront of security issues following the February 2018 event.
North Korea has repeatedly made clear that it will not give up its nuclear weapons, barring a halt to what it refers to as...