North Koreas Proliferation of Nuclear

Weapons: A Realist Perspective

Written By:
Adi Setiawan (13/350343/SP/25940)
Indira Zahra-Aridati (13/350320/SP/25934)
Nabilah Nur Abiyanti (13/343160/SP/25506)
Marwa (13/344170/SP/25515)

IUP in International Relations

Faculty of Social and Political Science
Universitas Gajah Mada

North Koreas Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons: A Realist Perspective

The conflict between North and South Korea has been occuring for for more than
half a century. The conflict started to escalat at the end of World War II, and into the
beginning of the Cold War, since the basic cause of the conflict is due to the clash of
ideologies. The situation produced by the Cold War exacerbated the tension in the region.
While South Korea prioritized their economic development, North Korea increase its
strength through military power, particularly in the development of nuclear weapons.
North Korea launched its first nuclear test in 2006, followed by the second one in 2009,
and the last one, just recently in 2013. Being politically and economically sanctioned by
the United Nations did not hinder North Korea to increase its nuclear power. This year
North Korea, again, delared its mission to launch a nuclear missile, and this time the
threat is not only dangerous to South Korea, but also the worlds most powerful state, the
United States.1 As its leader, Kim Jong-Un, stated If the war breaks out again in this
land, it will bring about a massive disaster and the US will never be safe.
Recognizing the current situation and the impact on world affairs, this paper aims
at analyzing the agressiveness of North Korea towards the disruption of world security,
the reason behind their action, and also the response from the interntaional community
which is a relevant aspect in this issue. The realist perception is the most accurate in
describing this case, since there are aspects regarding the world as an anarchy which led
to the insecurity of the global actors. In analyzing this case through the realist
perspective, the implementation of the different levels of analysis is crucial, and in this
case, they include the individual and international level of analysis, which will help
understand North Koreas dangerous actions.
The first important aspect is to analyze the crucial point which is the motivation
behind North Koreas nuclear program; whether it is because of the pursuit of power,
justice, or value. On the next section, it important to implement the level of analysis
according to the realist perspective, which is divided into two parts, and lastly, it is

Aljazeera. North Korea Threatens US in Nuclear Warning. < http://www.aljazeera.com/news/asia-

pacific/2014/01/kim-threatens-us-nuclear-warning-20141111822363569.html> Web. 12 May 2014.

important to examine the international communitys response when dealing with this
event.
The United States, which once was an international superpower, has been
significantly declining in dominance. The events of September 11, 2001 proved that even
the most powerful country in the world is vulnerable to impulsive acts of violence. 2 In a
world where power drives all actions of states, the decline of the United States as a
hegemon power marked a new era of mass weapon-building as a precaution to combat
security threats from external sources, and as a means to show a countrys adequacy to be
a possible contender of a rising superpower. Although nuclear weapons were used as far
back as 1945, the horrific eventacted as a catalyst that led many nations around the world
to be more cognizant of the need to have artilleries in order to counterattack security
threats.
In this increasingly globalized world, the nature of international affairs has shifted
from a unipolar distribution of power, to a more multipolar distribution of power. The
United States, which was once the hegemon power of global affairs, has significantly lost
some of their influence and credibility. The position of a world superpower is currently
not held by any nation; therefore it is possible for nations around the world to gain that
title. Although the last time nuclear weapons were used in warfare was at the end of
World War II when it exploded over Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the effects of the
devastating event has changed international and domestic policies up to this day.
According to realism, the world is anarchic, lawless, and does not posses an
international super police power. The lust for power is the driving force of all actions that
are taken by states. One of the most prevalent sources of insecurity amongst actors of
global affairs is the existence and proliferation of nuclear weapons. Driven by insecurity
and the want for power, nations around the world are increasing their military agenda in
order to increase their bargaining position, power and to seem more capable in the eyes of
the world. The Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK), being a nation that does
not thrive in any other aspect, turned to weapon building as a means to achieve political
ends.
2

Maass, Richard. Nuclear Proliferation and Declining U.S. Hegemony. 2011.

<https://www.hamilton.edu/documents//levitt-center/Maass_article.pdf> Web. 13 May 2014.

In the traditional realist perspective, the state of international anarchy creates the
necessity for an absolute weapon, which in this case uses uranium to create nuclear
weapons. As a nation with very little allies, North Korea realizes that if an external threat
were to attack their nation, they would need their own arsenal in order to protect the
nation and its people, which is why nuclear proliferation is a big item on their agenda.
Although nuclear weapons are hard to deploy and develop, it is the most effective
weapon in ensuring the destruction of the nations enemy. Since North Korea is still a
developing country, there have been many speculations regarding the motives behind the
creation of nuclear weapon, especially because the time, effort, and money needed to
create these weapons can be allocated in other aspects of development such as the social
welfare of its people. In order to fully understand the actions taken by North Korea, an
analysis of its past must be made.
Superpower countries have heavily surrounded the country of North Korea,
especially after the Korean War. In order to prevent another intervention from North
Korea into the demilitarized zone, foreign troops from the United Nations and the United
States have been stationed there to protect the zone and South Korea. The first time North
Korea received a nuclear threat was in the early 1950s, when the United States
considered using nuclear powers against them.3 In realism, the actions of North Korea are
seen as rational, and expected. Kenneth Waltz justifies the nuclear proliferation of North
Korea as a response to the faults of the international system. He also states that the
proliferation of nuclear weapons actually decrease the outbreak of war and the possibility
of an arms race, or in other words, it creates a deterrence effect. 4 The realist assumes that
all nations act only based on self-interest. Power is sought as a means of survival, and in
this current era, the most powerful form of weapons is nuclear. The lack of trust by
nations participating in international affairs is also a leading cause of the proliferation of
nuclear weapons. Intentions are never fully transparent, and an ally today can become an
enemy tomorrow.

Heywood, Andrew. Global Politics. Palgrave Foundations. p. 270.

Beker, Yonatan. Nuclear Proliferation and Iran: Thoughts about the Bomb. Journal of Foreign Affairs

II:3. Web. 14 May 2014.

The issue regarding North Koreas nuclear threat has become a prominent issue to
be discussed in world affairs, since not only does this issue jeopardize the security within
the korean peninsula, but it has proliferated to be the concern of the world. The question
raised here is, what are the motives behind North Koreas nuclear threats? The answer
can be seen by analyzing this issue through the eyes of the leaders of the nation.
The Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea, or North Korea was first ruled by
Kim Il Sung, the founder and eternal President of the nation. He was born and raised
within a revolutionary family who fought valorously for the sovereignty and
independence of the country, without setting aside the freedom and happiness of the
people itself.5 He was known as a great man with a warm heart that was proven through
his concern towards the citizens and the way he ensured that even during the Korean War
that was first initiated in the 1950s, that nobody in the country would die of hunger or
freze to death and no war orphan wandered about the street even in the darkest days of
the war.6
In his biography, it was stated that he was a man for his country, he depended on
the notion of self reliance, therefore he sees the need to strengthen North Koreas military
base as an urgent matter. Even with that, he was a man who was open to compromising,
which can be seen from his talks with the former president of the United States, Jimmy
Carter, regarding the nuclear program. Kim Il Sung created a favourable condition for the
opening of North Korea-US negotiations about the nuclear issue and for the North-South
summit conference.7 The fall of Kim Il Sung regime was caused by his sudden death in
1994, which was then continued by his son, Kim Jong Il.
Kim Jong Il took over the position to lead the country right after the death of Kim
Il Sung. He was known to be a leader that appears to have very much control of North
Korea, a man who thinks realistically and takes actions based on conditions of reality,
not to mention the fact that he was very well informed. Kim Jong Il was also known to be
a master of political survival, which is highly related to the principle of realism, setting
aside the fact that the country suffers from famine and various crises, he still believes that
5

Kim Il Sung Condensed Biography, Foreign Languages Publishing House, Pyongyang, 2001, p. 2.

Ibid. p. 183.

Ibid. p. 323.

the primary focuse of the country should be on successfully developing nuclear weapons.
He also believes that North Korea should continue to have a civilian nuclear program,
out of a matter of national pride and prestige as for purposes of energy security.8
Despite Kim Jong Ils eagerness to develop the nuclear program, in 1994, after a
long negotiation, North Korea agreed to the idea to freeze the nuclear program in North
Korea.9 In 2003, North Korea decided to withdraw itself from the Non Proliferation
Treaties (NPT) and was accused of having a nuclear mass destrcution weapons ambition,
which then made people conclude that the existence of nuclear programs is what makes
North Korea stand out in the international scope. The end of Kim Jong Ils regime was
caused by his death in 2011 and his position was then taken over by his son, Kim Jong
Un.
Kim Jong Un, as the current Supreme Leader of North Korea can be characterized
to be a younger version of Kim Jong Il, as he inherited the temperamental side of his
father. As he continued the duty to lead North Korea, he can be said to be non-negotiable,
compared to his predecessor when it comes to the matter of nuclear programs, since he
continued to throw threats and tantrums to attack South Korea with its nuclear weapons
despite having being sanctioned by the United Nations in late March, Pyongyang shot
back, warning the next stage which the enemy can hardly imagine.10
The different leaders, all believed in the importance of nuclear weapons in order
to show the international world the existence of their country. By seeing the conflict that
arise right now by analyzing through the individuals of each leaders of the Democratic
Peoples Republic of Korea, it seems that the nuclear proliferation is an act of rationality
in order for the nation to maintain its own security, and with the current leaders

Scobell, Andrew. Kim Jong Il and North Korea: The Leader and The System. The Strategic Studies

Institute. <http://www.strategicstudiesinstitute.army.mil/pdffiles/pub644.pdf> Web. 13 May 2014.

9

Wit, Joel. Lessons from Pyongyang. Foreign Policy.

<http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2013/11/27/lessons_from_pyongyang_iran_nuclear_negotiations>,
Web. 13 May 2014.
10

Lewis, Jeffrey. Kim Jong Uns Thermonuclear Dreams, Foreign Policy.

<http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2014/04/10/north_korea_new_nuclear_test_thermonuclear_multipl
e_detonation> Web. 13 May 2014.

temperament, it could be an act for North Korea to gain power and to achieve political
ends in the international scope.
The other level of analysis that is crucial in analyzing this issue is the
international level. According to the international level of analysis, the aggressiveness of
North Korean in threatening the world security by using their missile and their Nuclear
Weapon has two purposes. The first reason is to get assistance from the international
community, North Korea which is well known as an isolated country who refused to
have close relations with the other countries, has become a minority in international
relations. North Korea prefers to be an independent country, it seems that North Korea
tries to show the world that they are capable of being on their own. However, this
decision make this country become a minority in the international system, and they are
aware of it. They are slowly realizing that they need other countries to help them achieve
their necessities, but they do not want to be seen as a weak country in the eyes of the
international world, therefore they proceeded to use nuclear weapons.11 They didnt want
the world to see them as a small country which depended on the help of others to survive,
imstead, they want the world see them as a dominant country which influences
international relations. They think that the threat to the worlds security by using their
weapons such as missiles and nuclear weapons will make the other countries surrender
and give in to their demands.12 It can be proven by their requests to the United Nations on
23 April 2013, which states that they wanted the world to see North Korea as a nuclear
country, which was refused by the United Nations and some other countries, but North
Korea still tried to make their request come to life.13 It can also be seen from North
Koreas success in nuclear tests in 2006, that they proudly announced their hope for the

11

Eckert, Paul. Analysis: Realism, not softening, Seen in U.S.-North Korea Moves. Reuters.
< http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/01/05/us-korea-north-shift-idUSTRE70406620110105>
Web. 13 May 2014.
12

SIS 105.038 H Class. <http://dispatchesfromwatkins.blogspot.com/2012/12/thr-realistdeterrence-policies-of.html>

13

Eckert, Paul. Analysis: Realism, not softening, Seen in U.S.-North Korea Moves. Reuters.
< http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/01/05/us-korea-north-shift-idUSTRE70406620110105>
Web. 13 May 2014.

world to recognize them as a Nuclear Country. Those two evidences show that North
Korea threatened the world in order to be feared by the international world.
The second reason is due to the aid that North Korea is looking for. As mentioned
before, North Korea needs the help of others to fulfill their need, which is evident from
the condition of North Korea which can be included as a poor country.14 The North
Korean people are suffering from issues such as hunger, unemployment, and health
problems. Those kind of welfare problems becomes one of the most challenging issues
that is faced by North Korea. North Korea thinks that in solving those problems they need
aid from the others, but they also didnt want to have debt from other countries. Seeing
their economic condition, having other countries give them loan will only make the
condition worse, because they themselves are sure that they would not be able to pay it
back. Besides that, they have also decide to be an independent country, and asking for
help from other countries would only hurt their pride. North Koreas nuclear threat
indeed fulfilled their domestic interest. The first threat was responded by the US, where
US gave the oil aid for them in exchange they had to stop their nuclear program. Despite
the political and economical sanctions by the United Nations, the threat did work out in
North Koreas favor.15 Seeing this condition, North Korea restarted to create their nuclear
weapon. Now the Nuclear weapon has been created, North Koreas threat to the world by
using their weapon. Even when the United Nations decided to give them sanctions by
stopping aid given to North Korea, they threat the world with their nuclear weapons,
argue and plan that they will attack the United States and some other countries. However,
when the United Nations cancelled their punishment, and continued the aid to North
Korea, North Korea also stopped their nuclear threat and made sure that the weapons are
only there as a form of protection. From this we could clearly see that developing nuclear
weapon is not only to improve their position in global politics, but also to fulfill their
domestic interests.

14

Head, Tom. Human Rights in North Korea. About.

<http://civilliberty.about.com/od/internationalhumanrights/p/northkorea101.htm> Web. 13 May
2014.
15

SIS 105.038 H Class. http://dispatchesfromwatkins.blogspot.com/2012/12/thr-realist-deterrence-policiesof.html

The issue of nuclear proliferation has been very controversial, and the response
from the international community varies significantly. Those who are pro-nuclear
weapons, argue that due to a system that lacks a world government, the existence of
nuclear weapons create stability, since it creates a balance of power, through its opposite
which is the balance of terror.15 The understanding of a Mutually Assured Destruction,
which is a condition where the use of nuclear weapons will ensure the destruction of both
states that use them, will be the ultimate reason why neither states will restrain
themselves from using the nuclear weapons. This situation occurred during the Cold War,
the acknowledgment of Mutually Assured Destruction led to the period of dtente
between the East and the West. There also arguments, which emphasize that nuclear
weapons create statesmanship and responsibility amongst states not to use them due to
the inevitable damage it will create.
On the other side of the spectrum, however, there are nations, which greatly
oppose the use of nuclear weapons. Advocates of this idea states that the dangers of
nuclear weapons in the wrong hands can create chaos for the international community.
The United States believes that this is the case that can be seen in North Korea. North
Korea is seen as a rogue state, which historically has been willing to use violence in order
to repress their people internally. It is feared that the existence of nuclear weapons in
North Korea posses a threat to its neighboring countries, and also the international world.
The nation has always been uncooperative and belligerent when it comes to treaties,
which can be a clear and present danger.
As a country that feels responsible for maintaining international peace and
stability, the United States has done several actions in order to combat the proliferation of
nuclear weapons, especially in North Korea. The creation of the Nuclear NonProliferation Treaty (NPT), as well as the Six Party Talks between the governments of
the Republic of Korea, Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea, Peoples Republic of
China, Japan, Russia, and the United States of America to talk about the slow decrease of
nuclear weapons. However, the retraction of North Korea from the Six Party Talks is
seen as dangerous and a possible hindrance to the decrease of nuclear weapons in their
agenda.
15

Heywood, Andrew. Global Politics. Palgrave Foundations. p. 272.

In conclusion, what is behind North Koreas nuclear threat is only the pursuit of
power in international politic, expanding its power through nuclear weapon would raise
its position as well. Gaining the power could be pursue through three main point which
are economy, politic, and military. Politically weak and economically inadequate,
military is the best way to fulfil its interest, and nuclear indeed makes it come true. Along
with the decline of US, the worlds hegemony, who according to realist could guarantee
the worlds peace, North Koreas nuclear threat definetely boost the global insecurity.
As it has stated in the previous paragraph, based on the individual level of
analysis, the leader, who has the highest authority, is in the condition of highly emotional
and tempramental, that the states policy and action is also the form of physcological
condition of its leader itself. The condition of the world, which is anarchy, has forced
the state to take this kind of barbaric actions. Being known as the nuclear power state,
DPRK could enjoy the benefit of it, having others to fill its domestic interest, and the
most important one is to be feared by others. As Machiavelli stated Since love and fear
can hardly exist together, if we must choose between them, it is far safer to be feared than
loved and North Korea is indeed taking the right decision.