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North Korea Defence and Security Report 2007Published by: Business Monitor International Published: Dec. 11, 2007 - 38 Pages Table of Contents
AbstractIn Q406 the North East Asia regional security situation deteriorated significantly as a result of NorthKorea testing its Taepo Dong nuclear missiles. The UN Security Council adopted a resolution of sanctions against North Korea, ranging from the request to North Korea to give up all weapons of mass destruction and banning nations from exporting luxury goods and heavy weapons to North Korea. The resolution recommended freezing all North Korea’s weapons-related funds, including the inspection of all cargo to and from North Korea. The Japanese Maritime Self Defence Force (MSDF) provided transport and logistical support to the US-led inspections of the cargo ships to and from North Korea in the Sea of Japan. Neighbouring states, such as Japan and South Korea, defined the situation as an emergency. North Korea is likely to remain under strong external pressure, particularly from the US. In Q406 North Korea announced that it would participate in the Six Party Talks, which seek a diplomatic resolution to the issue. Importantly, Japan has indicated that this is its preferred means of resolving the issue. Previously Pyongyang had demanded that Washington lift financial sanctions before it would return to the negotiating table, but US officials say these are entirely separate from the issue of nuclear development and weapons development. It is not only the US that is interested in North Korea. China and South Korea appear to be pulling North Korea in opposite directions, but their interests are similar. The South is striving to maintain a degree of cordiality between North Korea and the West. China’s priority is that the area remains stable in order to reduce the chances of the reunification of the Korean Peninsula - something that the South is not in a hurry to achieve either. In this vein, North Korea remains a difficult player in the region, and one that the US continues to be fearful of. The US Defence Intelligence Agency confirmed its belief that North Korea had mastered the technology for arming its missiles with nuclear warheads, confirmed by the testing of the Taepo Dong 2 missile. North Korea’s defence industry, whilst unsophisticated, is capable of producing military equipment to sustain its outdated armed forces, and to maintain a healthy illicit arms trade. Its extensive, if not advanced, defence industry provides it with a self-reliance that can rival most other states’ defence sectors. Should North Korea ever come in out of the cold and its arms trade move from the illicit to the lawful, it could boast a very profitable defence industry. The testing of the missiles and the response from the international community does not appear to have ruffled North Korea. Pyongyang is content to exist behind the relative safety of its armed forces, which number over 1mn troops, and the threat from its ballistic missile systems. However, the testing of the missiles has destabilised the region, with South Korea and Japan requesting significant increases in their respective 2007 defence budgets and both countries announcing plans to purchase PAC-3 missiles. Get Full Details About This Report >> |
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