Abstract: The foreign policy behavior of North Korea remains puzzling to many observers to date. This article aims to explain Pyongyang’s foreign behavior between 1995 and 2011 with a concept called the balance of dependence. Although it stood on the brink of collapse in the 1990s, the North Korean regime defied the odds and survived with the help of neighboring countries, namely South Korea, Japan, China, Russia, and the United States. This article intends to explain Pyongyang’s foreign policy under Kim Jong Il by focusing on how it deliberately built a portfolio of dependence on its neighbors. I argue that North Korea’s foreign behavior had been attuned to the rise and fall of assistance from other nations. It sought to disperse its dependence among a host of potential sponsors in order not to be exclusively reliant on a single donor state, fearing restrictions on its political autonomy. As long as its neighbors are willing to help out, Pyongyang will continue to play one sponsor off the others while making progress with its nuclear and missile programs. Full text available here.
