{"id":9739,"date":"2025-08-07T13:52:33","date_gmt":"2025-08-07T13:52:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/snuacwebzine.snu.ac.kr\/?p=9739"},"modified":"2025-09-04T13:56:23","modified_gmt":"2025-09-04T13:56:23","slug":"north-koreas-foreign-policy-in-its-regional-setting-irrational-dynastic-or-realist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/snuacwebzine.snu.ac.kr\/?p=9739","title":{"rendered":"North Korea\u2019s Foreign Policy in Its Regional Setting: Irrational, Dynastic, or Realist?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wpb-content-wrapper\"><div id=\"tdi_1\" class=\"tdc-row\"><div class=\"vc_row tdi_2  wpb_row td-pb-row\" >\n<style scoped>\n\/* custom css - generated by TagDiv Composer *\/\n\n\/* custom css - generated by TagDiv Composer *\/\n.tdi_2,\r\n                .tdi_2 .tdc-columns{\r\n                    min-height: 0;\r\n                }.tdi_2,\r\n\t\t\t\t.tdi_2 .tdc-columns{\r\n\t\t\t\t    display: block;\r\n\t\t\t\t}.tdi_2 .tdc-columns{\r\n\t\t\t\t    width: 100%;\r\n\t\t\t\t}.tdi_2:before,\r\n\t\t\t\t.tdi_2:after{\r\n\t\t\t\t    display: table;\r\n\t\t\t\t}\n<\/style><div class=\"vc_column tdi_4  wpb_column vc_column_container tdc-column td-pb-span12\">\n<style scoped>\n\/* custom css - generated by TagDiv Composer *\/\n\n\/* custom css - generated by TagDiv Composer *\/\n.tdi_4{\r\n                    vertical-align: baseline;\r\n                }.tdi_4 > .wpb_wrapper,\r\n\t\t\t\t.tdi_4 > .wpb_wrapper > .tdc-elements{\r\n\t\t\t\t    display: block;\r\n\t\t\t\t}.tdi_4 > .wpb_wrapper > .tdc-elements{\r\n\t\t\t\t    width: 100%;\r\n\t\t\t\t}.tdi_4 > .wpb_wrapper > .vc_row_inner{\r\n\t\t\t\t    width: auto;\r\n\t\t\t\t}.tdi_4 > .wpb_wrapper{\r\n\t\t\t\t    width: auto;\r\n\t\t\t\t    height: auto;\r\n\t\t\t\t}\n<\/style><div class=\"wpb_wrapper\" >[vc_column_text]<strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-9741 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/snuacwebzine.snu.ac.kr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/81h3JRcm3VL._UF10001000_QL80_-212x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"212\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/snuacwebzine.snu.ac.kr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/81h3JRcm3VL._UF10001000_QL80_-212x300.jpg 212w, https:\/\/snuacwebzine.snu.ac.kr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/81h3JRcm3VL._UF10001000_QL80_-296x420.jpg 296w, https:\/\/snuacwebzine.snu.ac.kr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/81h3JRcm3VL._UF10001000_QL80_-150x213.jpg 150w, https:\/\/snuacwebzine.snu.ac.kr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/81h3JRcm3VL._UF10001000_QL80_-300x426.jpg 300w, https:\/\/snuacwebzine.snu.ac.kr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/81h3JRcm3VL._UF10001000_QL80_-696x987.jpg 696w, https:\/\/snuacwebzine.snu.ac.kr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/81h3JRcm3VL._UF10001000_QL80_.jpg 705w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 212px) 100vw, 212px\" \/>&#8220;North Korea\u2019s Foreign Policy in Its Regional Setting: Irrational, Dynastic, or Realist?&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\uc800\uc790: Dylan Motin(\uc544\uc2dc\uc544\uc5f0\uad6c\uc18c \ubc29\ubb38\uc5f0\uad6c\uc6d0)<\/p>\n<p><i>Decoding the Chessboard of Asian Geopolitics: Asian Powerplay in East and Southeast Asia, The Global North, and Other Emerging Issues<\/i> (edited by Debasish Nandy, Monojit Das, Palgrave Macmilan, 2025)<\/p>\n<section lang=\"en\" aria-labelledby=\"Abs1\" data-title=\"Abstract\">\n<div id=\"Abs1-section\" class=\"c-article-section\">\n<div id=\"Abs1-content\" class=\"c-article-section__content\">\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">North Korea remains infamous as Asia\u2019s black sheep. The country is generally dismissed as reclusive, unpredictable, and aggressive. However, the worsening U.S.-China competition is turning East Asia into a dangerous powder keg, and the Korean Peninsula is once again a flashpoint for great power politics. Therefore, and now that Pyongyang possesses a working nuclear arsenal, \u2018getting North Korea right\u2019 is more urgent than ever. Most pundits explain North Korean foreign policy by the Kim dynasty\u2019s eagerness to maintain its grip on power. Others simply believe that North Korean leaders are irrational and eschatological ideologues. In this chapter, I argue that neither viewpoint properly accounts for North Korea\u2019s behavior. Instead, I make the case that Pyongyang acts upon realist motives. Its foreign policy is rational and driven by the country\u2019s position in the international system. First, I describe Pyongyang\u2019s foreign policymaking environment and basic settings. I use realist theorizing to develop a framework of how a state in that situation should behave. Second, I check whether this framework applies to North Korean foreign policy by providing an overview of its defense posture and diplomacy from its inception until today. This historical account shows that Pyongyang pursued a sound, national interest-based foreign policy. In the last part, I lay out the implications for the future of the country\u2019s regional alignments and suggest how neighbors should deal with North Korea to reduce tensions and promote long-term stability in Asia.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/link.springer.com\/chapter\/10.1007\/978-981-96-3073-8_4\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\uc790\uc138\ud788 \ubcf4\uae30<\/a>[\/vc_column_text]<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><b>North Korea\u2019s Foreign Policy in Its Regional Setting: Irrational, Dynastic, or Realist?<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Dylan Motin(\uc544\uc2dc\uc544\uc5f0\uad6c\uc18c \ubc29\ubb38\uc5f0\uad6c\uc6d0)<\/p>\n<p>\ubd81\ud55c\uc758 \uc678\uad50 \uc815\ucc45\uc740 \uad6d\uc81c\uccb4\uc81c \uc18d \ud569\ub9ac\uc801 \uad6d\uac00 \ud589\uc704\ub85c \uc774\ud574\ub420 \uc218 \uc788\ub294\uac00? \uc774 \uae00\uc740 \ubd81\ud55c \uc678\uad50 \uc815\ucc45\uc744 \ub2e8\uc21c\ud788 \uad8c\ub825 \uc720\uc9c0\ub97c \uc704\ud55c \ub3c5\uc7ac\uc790\uc758 \ud589\uc704\ub098 \ube44\uc774\uc131\uc801\uc778 \uc774\ub150\uc758 \uacb0\uacfc\ub85c \ubcf4\ub294 \uae30\uc874 \uc2dc\uac01\uc744 \ube44\ud310\ud558\uace0, \ud604\uc2e4\uc8fc\uc758 \uc774\ub860\uc5d0 \uc785\uac01\ud574 \ubd81\ud55c\uc758 \ud589\uc704\ub97c \uad6d\uc81c\uccb4\uc81c \ub0b4 \ud569\ub9ac\uc801 \ub300\uc751\uc73c\ub85c \ud574\uc11d\ud55c\ub2e4. \ubd81\ud55c \uc678\uad50 \uc815\ucc45\uc758 \uc5ed\uc0ac\uc801 \ud750\ub984\uc744 \uc0b4\ud3b4\ubcf4\uba74, \uad6d\uac00 \uc774\uc775\uc744 \uace0\ub824\ud55c \uc77c\uad00\ub41c \uc804\ub7b5\uc774 \ub4dc\ub7ec\ub098\uba70, \uc774\ub294 \ud5a5\ud6c4 \ub3d9\uc544\uc2dc\uc544 \uc9c0\uc5ed \uc548\uc815\uacfc \ubd81\ud55c \ub300\uc751 \uc804\ub7b5 \uc218\ub9bd\uc5d0 \uc911\uc694\ud55c \ud568\uc758\ub97c \uc81c\uacf5\ud55c\ub2e4.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":9741,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1745,1680,1679],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-9739","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-2025-9","8":"category-1680","9":"category-1679"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/snuacwebzine.snu.ac.kr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9739","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/snuacwebzine.snu.ac.kr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/snuacwebzine.snu.ac.kr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/snuacwebzine.snu.ac.kr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/snuacwebzine.snu.ac.kr\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9739"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/snuacwebzine.snu.ac.kr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9739\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9742,"href":"https:\/\/snuacwebzine.snu.ac.kr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9739\/revisions\/9742"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/snuacwebzine.snu.ac.kr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/9741"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/snuacwebzine.snu.ac.kr\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9739"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/snuacwebzine.snu.ac.kr\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9739"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/snuacwebzine.snu.ac.kr\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9739"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}