Arms Control Dialogue or Gray Zone Talks? Pitfalls of the Discourses of Denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and Nuclear Arms Control

초록

What makes the schemes to address Pyongyang's nuclear program so ineffective? Aside from conventional explanations, two gray zone discourses are at play. First, the gray zone discourse of denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula has been viable since 1991. Second, another gray zone discourse of nuclear arms control with North Korea has been gathering pace recently. Gray zone discourses blur the line between North Korea and the United States regarding who should be a targeted state. How are gray zone discourses at play in the long process of negotiations and talks? Who is the most likely to win if these gray zone discourses remain intact? These blurred discourses also help North Korea become a recognized nuclear power and a normal state in an international arena. Leaving the distorted mechanism unchecked can encourage a gray zone perpetrator to seize the initiative of tackling nuclear issues, allowing North Korea to achieve a final goal of nuclearization. As part of the efforts to make gray zone discourses unfunctional, three strategic and policy remedies need to be at the forefront: making black-and-white discourses, increasing leverage to North Korea, and establishing a zero-gray-zone strategy.

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