ABSTRACT
Assessing its coercive diplomacy in retrospect, this chapter posits that the US should deal with the North Korean nuclear issue with a more sophisticated combination of coercive measures and positive inducements to overcome past failures. Simultaneously, based on an analysis of current challenges and opportunities, the US should consider this nuclear agenda within its Indo-Pacific Strategy (IPS) with a long-term regional vision. The US's active engagement in North Korean nuclear issue can create opportunities for cooperation with China or provide the US with the strategic means to influence China. In addition, the US–ROK alliance and US–ROK–Japan trilateral cooperation could be a driving force in resolving the DPRK's nuclear agenda and support the US's IPS. Ultimately, the linkage between the US's coercive approach to the DPRK and its IPS could help prevent the possible demise of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) regime, which is threatened by the DPRK's nuclear ambitions.
