ABSTRACT
North Korea’s policy objectives have changed significantly over time. In the 1960s, they were ambitious, aggressive, and hostile. Forcibly stopping U.S. intelligence activities, diverting U.S.–ROK strategic focus away from the Vietnam War, and attempting to overthrow the South Korean government are but a few examples. North Korea’s policy objectives in the 1970s were not as grandiose as in the 1960s but they were still quite ambitious. Examples from this decade include making maritime territorial claims, concluding a peace agreement with the United States, getting the United States to withdraw its forces from South Korea, and destabilizing South Korea. In the 1980s, North Korea took extremely aggressive actions. It attempted to assassinate the South Korean president and undermine the Seoul Olympic Games by bombing a Korean Air civilian passenger airliner. Despite the expressed aggressiveness, however, these actions, and particularly the bombing of a passenger aircraft, reflected a sense of anxiety and desperation, as North Korea’s policy objectives were becoming increasingly defensive. South Korea’s economy was pulling ahead of the North as it prepared to make its debut on the international stage by hosting the Olympic Games. Concerned with preserving the balance, North Korea felt like it had to stop these developments. By the early 1990s, North Korea’s policy objectives had become more decidedly defensive. Regime survival and acquisition of economic assistance had become the most important objectives. North Korea attempted to achieve these goals by trying to normalize relations with the United States and Japan. Military crises notwithstanding, North Korea’s policy objectives since the 1990s have been minimalist.
