United States diplomacy with North Korea and Vietnam: explaining failure and success

Abstract

"Nuclear war haunts the world today because the United States has refused to negotiate a peace agreement with North Korea for more than six decades. Yet the United States is on friendly terms today with Vietnam, a former enemy. The book answers why, finding that Washington's diplomacy with both countries explains such a dramatic difference. Among four theories posed, power politics and presidential politics are refuted as explanations. Mass society theory, which focuses on civil society, finds that negotiations regarding American soldiers missing in action paved the way for success with Vietnam but not with North Korea. But diplomacy theory--tracing moves and countermoves during diplomatic interactions--reveals the real source of the problem: The United States provided reciprocated unilateral positive gestures to Vietnam while repeatedly double crossing North Korea. Although Pyongyang repeatedly offered to give up nuclear developments, Washington offered no alternative to Pyongyang but to develop a nuclear deterrent to safeguard the country against a devious and hostile United States. The book, in short, serves as a serious corrective to false narratives and options being disseminated about the situation, which fail to appreciate how North Korea perceives the situation. Now that North Korea will never give up its nuclear deterrent, diplomacy is the only route toward a de-escalation of tensions so that the United States can live with nuclear North Korea in a manner similar to nuclear China and nuclear Russia. More broadly, the book demonstrates what happens when Washington plays the role of global bully. More resources are needed for developing diplomatic talent in a world that will otherwise become more dangerous"--