North Korea's Nuclear Belligerence: The Extreeme Application of the Realist Theory

Abstract

The possession of nuclear weapon capability by the United States of America in 1945 set other world powers on the race to add the lethal weapon to their arsenals. Between 1945 and 1964, all the five emerging champions of the WWII possessed nuclear capability and became known as Nuclear Weapon States (NWS). A bid to curb nuclear proliferation and avert the concomitant ominous risk which it might portent to world security led to the establishment of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). Having opted out of the NPT, North Korea embarked on a brazen development and testing of nuclear weapons in defiance of all nuclear weapon regulatory bodies. While examining the underlining factors for North Korea's defiance, this research discovered that North Korea pursuit of nuclear weapons is absolutely in conformity with the realist proposition. However, since the belligerent attitude has made the country a pariah state and produced adverse effects on the nation's economic growth and the citizens welfare, the research suggests that North Korea should play down on ‘hard power' which subjects it to international odium and explore the option of‘soft power' which states use to their own advantage Descriptive research design method was used