Case 341 - US Strategy to Stem North Korea's Nuclear Program: Assessing the Clinton and Bush Legacies
North Korea’s nuclear program was a microcosm of the kind of complex security challenges the United States would confront in the 21st century. This case study examines the role of the US intelligence and foreign policy communities to reduce the global and regional security threats posed by nuclear proliferation in North Korea, by looking at the very different approaches adopted by the Clinton and Bush administrations. This case study focuses on the North Korean nuclear threat as a way to examine the dynamics of intelligence and policy. As the United States and Asia continue to grapple with the threat of a nuclear-armed North Korea, what are the next steps for US diplomacy? What lessons from this case study can inform future US administrations and policymakers toward their policy and negotiations with North Korea—or other states that may be embarking on a nuclear weapons program?
