Red Rogue: The Persistent Challenge of North Korea

by Bruce E. Bechtol

Overview

In Red Rogue, Bruce Bechtol analyzes the changing nature of North Korea's national defense, foreign policy, and illicit economic activities in the post-9/11 era. He describes how North Korea has adapted to a changing global and regional environment to ensure regime survival and has often dictated the agenda in East Asia. Bechtol explains why North Korea frequently resorts to brinkmanship and provocations as foreign policy tools and why North Korea remains a threat to the United States and South Korea.

After a detailed discussion of North Korea's internal politics and foreign policy, Red Rogue examines the diverging U.S. and South Korean assessments of security on the peninsula, the health of the rapidly changing South Korea-U.S. alliance, and the badly deteriorated South Korean civil-military relationship. Using a framework that focuses on diplomatic, informational, military, and economic instruments of national power, the author reveals the dynamic and complicated challenges for security and stability on the Korean Peninsula. The reader will gain a clear perspective of the paradigm shifts in U.S., South Korean, and North Korean policies in recent years. The book is essential reading for scholars, policymakers, military strategists, and anyone who has an interest in East Asian affairs.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781612343631
Publisher:	Potomac Books Inc.
Publication date:	09/30/2007
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Bruce E. Bechtol, Jr., is an associate professor of political science at Angelo State University and served as a visiting adjunct professor at the Korea University Graduate School of International Studies in Seoul, Korea. A former intelligence officer with the Defense Intelligence Agency and a retired Marine, he has lived and worked in Korea. He is the author of Red Rogue: The Persistent Challenge of North Korea, as well as numerous articles in peer-reviewed journals relating to Korean security issues. He lives in San Angelo, Texas.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations     vii
Preface     ix
Introduction     1
North Korea in the Post-9/11 Era: Brinkmanship, Provocations, Illicit Activities, and Challenges for Regime Survival
North Korea's Nuclear Program: Controversy and Brinkmanship     13
North Korea's Missiles: Proliferation, Deployment, Testing, and Tools of Foreign Policy     37
Adjusting to Economic Realities: The Evolving Doctrine, Readiness, and Capabilities of North Korea's Conventional Forces     55
Case Study in Conventional Forces Provocations: The Northern Limit Line Incident of 2002     69
Financing a Rogue Regime: North Korea's Illicit Economic Activities     87
Preserving the Regime: Overarching Challenges and Motivations for the Kim Chong-il Government in the Post-9/11 Era     107
Answering North Korea's Troubling State Behavior: The Changing ROK-U.S. Alliance and Splintered South Korean Civil-Military Relationship
Countering the North Korean Threat: Challenges for the ROK-U.S. Alliance in the Post-9/11 Era     145
Civil-Military Relations in the ROK: The impact on North-South Relations and the ROK-U.S. Alliance     177
Conclusion: The Impact of the Post-9/11 Era on Korean Security     195
Notes     207
Selected Bibliography     261
Index     279
About the Author     285