Abstract: The main goal of this article is to explain the American failure of deterring North
Korean nuclear proliferation. Specifically, it examines the underlying reasons for
which U.S. inhibition policy toward North Korea has failed, despite the numerous
attempts by U.S. administrations (both Republicans and Democrats) to prevent
North Korea’s nuclear development. The central thesis of the article is that while
there were multiple reasons for the American failure of North Korean proliferation,
the most important ones were U.S. misperceptions about both North Korea’s and
China’s intentions and U.S. distraction by the war on terror. These factors, along
with Pyongyang’s shrewd strategies to manipulate Washington, Seoul, and Beijing,
played a key role in the emergence of a nuclear North Korea. Full text available here.