ABSTRACT
If today US domestic politics has a more decisive impact on foreign policy than geopolitical realities, US allies the Republic of Korea (ROK) and Japan will have difficulty matching their Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) policy with that of the United States. Security cooperation in Northeast Asia aimed at the DPRK; North Korea consists of multilateral armed deterrence and diplomacy. Beijing and Moscow maintain diplomatic relations with the DPRK, but even these capitals are increasingly impatient with Pyongyang's disregard for UN Security Council (UNSC) resolutions which have repeatedly demanded since 2006 that the DPRK halt its nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles programs. Conventional wisdom blames this situation on the DPRK's failure to respect UNSC resolutions and international norms, and to fulfill its international commitments. US policy toward East Asia since 1949 has been and remains inseparable from the US domestic priorities of promoting peace, prosperity, and stability.
