The Problems North Korea Poses For Contemporary East Asia - Research Paper Example

Provide The Relevant Background, Status And Outlook Regarding The Problems North Korea Poses For Contemporary East Asia? INTRODUCTION It is evident that global issues often impact nations in a wider manner irrespective of their associations with the concerned problems or challenges. Notably, countries in the global environment are interlinked with one another and impact on one certainly ensures affecting the other. It has been learned that global issues mainly comprise the political problems such as terrorism, imbalances prevailing within diverse societies and different thinking process of people among others. It can be apparently observed in this similar concern that the nation North Korea poses certain crucial problems for the contemporary East Asia. Justifiably, the country has been dealing with severe political problems that are affecting other nations of the Asian continent (Mervio 19-30). With this concern, the essay intends to discuss and analyze the problems as well as the challenges pose by North America for the modern East Asia countries. DISCUSSION There are various issues that North Korea is facing in the present day scenario which is affecting the entire nation along with the countries of the East Asian region in a comprehensive manner. In this regard, a few of the basic and the most crucial significant issues poses by North Korea for the contemporary East Asia are inability to suffice the daily requirements of the people, inhumane treatment and imbalance in the context of criminal justice system among others. It is worth mentioning in this similar context that the unstable political and social economic conditions of North Korea have certainly posed severe threats for the nations of East Asia by a certain extent. More importantly, it is the problem of the challenge of security tensions, which North Korea is dealing with (Borthwick 15-20). The country i.e. North Korea has initiated two of the most drastic nuclear programs in terms of magnitude. Likewise, it is ranked as the third largest in terms of its chemical weapon arsenal. Notably, the country has fired missiles such as Nodong and Taepodong to Asian countries like Japan and South Korea that certainly resulted into mass destruction. This can be duly considered as one of the negative impacts of the country imposed to the nations of East Asia. Lack of proper leadership in the country has also resulted in erupting major issues that affected the rapid pace of development of the East Asian nations and the global countries altogether. It will be vital to mention that the aspects including poverty, unstable economy and prevalence of improper legislative structures are deemed to be certain crucial issues that North Korea is dealing in this contemporary scenario. The problems of security in North Korea have been widely regarded as a threat to the countries of the East Asian regions along with the other international nations in the global paradigm (Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation, “North Korean Security Challenges – Post Kim Jong-il”). In relation to the above context, it has been learned that the challenges relevant to security prevailing in North Korea has been affecting Japan by a certain level in the modern scenario. It has been often argued that Japan, which is regarded as one of the most notable countries of the global world and amidst the Asian continent, has been under extreme threat relevant to security owing to the approaches of North Korea. The approach of the country to attack Japan in the past with nuclear weapons has impacted the peace and stability of modern day Japan in quite a larger extent altogether. Countries like China and South Korea have also been under security threat owing to the inappropriate approaches adopted by North Korea over the last decade or so. It will be vital to mention in this similar context that a few of the recent provocations of the country can be taken into concern in this particular context (Holcombe 60-80). The missile tests, nuclear tests and satellite launch of the country in the year 2006 and 2009 certainly affected the security of the East Asian countries and the well being of the people of such nations at large (Tanaka, “Japan’s Foreign Policy and East Asian Regionalism”). It has been quite evident that countries in the global world possess certain commitments and agreements that need to be followed for ensuring greater balance and improvising well being of the global society altogether. Similarly, it has also been argued that North Korea follows certain policies and agreements with the fellow Asian and international nations for ensuring global stability. However, with the approaches adopted by North Korea in the context of conducting nuclear and missile tests, these certainly violate the commitments and promises made by this nation towards the global nations including the East Asian countries in the contemporary world. The inconsistency in the policies that are prevailing within the political structure of North Korea is argued to be allowing the country to conduct unfair practices that has been affecting the Asian nations one way or the other. The country is also deemed to depict a non-adherence approach towards the UN Security Council Resolutions, which were developed for the betterment of the world in a collective manner. This can be better understood from one of the quotes presented in the book ‘A History of East Asia: From the Origins of Civilization to the Twenty-First Century’, which deciphered that “In 2002, however, North Korea once again expelled its inspectors, withdrew from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, and openly began trying to develop automatic weapons…” (Holcombe 302). In this regard, it has been learnt that North Korea is accused of carrying destructive weapons and technology that can harm the fellow countries and the global nations in a comprehensive manner (Tanaka, “Japan’s Foreign Policy and East Asian Regionalism”). Furthermore, considering the recent approaches made by the leaders of the nation i.e. North Korea, it can be ascertained that the country is reluctant towards ensuring global balance through peace treaties. This can also be regarded as a threat to the countries of East Asia. This aspect has more or less impacted the relationships of North Korea with some of the major countries of the Asian continent in the contemporary scenario. Other than security, there are certain issues associated with North Korea that have been affecting the countries of East Asia in the modern day world. This can be justified with reference to the fact that the economic, social as well as political problems prevailing in North Korea are also adversely impacting the nations falling under East Asia. Specially mentioning, owing to the prevalence of a weak and imbalanced economy in North Korea, the economies of the countries of East Asia that are associated with trade activities of the nation also got impacted with regards to their respective economic development. It has been apparently noticed that the social problems prevailing in North Korea such as lack of social injustice for the residents have been affecting the East Asian regions to ensure collective well being of the society in a comprehensive manner (Tanaka, “Japan’s Foreign Policy and East Asian Regionalism”). This can be better comprehended from the quotation provided in the book ‘Pacific Century: The Emergence of Modern Pacific Asia’, which depicted “Japan and Korea each now conduct more trade with China than with the United States” (Borthwick 6). From the overall argument, it is quite apparent that North Korea and its inappropriate policies or approaches towards the global nations and the neighboring Asian nations have been significantly impacting the growth and prosperity of the East Asian Regions. CONCLUSION From the above analysis and discussion, it can be summarized that maintaining global balance and maintaining well being of the people are amongst the prime goals of the countries in the present day scenario. It has been learned in this regard that countries move into treaties and agreements in order to form mutual agreement with the aim of bringing collective prosperity of the nations. However, in recent years, the unfair practices and approaches of North Korea have been affecting the countries like South Korea, Japan and other East Asian countries in terms of the destabilizing the factors like security, political conditions and economic balance among others. Hence, it can be concluded that North Korea poses immense problems or challenges for the contemporary East Asia that need to be mitigated for ensuring the formation as well as the maintenance of greater global balance in terms of security and other related aspects. Works Cited Borthwick, Mark. Pacific Century: The Emergence of Modern Pacific Asia. US: Westview Press, 2013. Print. “North Korean Security Challenges – Post Kim Jong-il.” Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation, 2014. Web. 08 Dec. 2014. Holcombe, Charles. A History of East Asia: From the Origins of Civilization to the Twenty-First Century. US: Cambridge University Press, 2011. Print. Mervio, Mika Markus. Contemporary Social Issues in East Asian Societies: Examining the Spectrum of Public and Private Spheres: Examining the Spectrum of Public and Private Spheres (Google eBook). US: IGI Global, 2014. Print. Tanaka, Htoshi. Japan’s Foreign Policy and East Asian Regionalism, 2009. Web. 08 Dec. 2014. Read More