Kim Jong Il’s death: continuity plus opportunity to engage
North Korean heir-apparent Kim Jong Un. His father, Kim Jong-il, died on Saturday, 17 December, 2011. (Photo: AAP)

Authors: Peter Hayes, Scott Bruce, and David von Hippel, Nautilus Institute

When North Korean leader and founding father Kim Il Sung died in July 1994, his son Kim Jong Il had effectively held the reins of power since 1981.

The problem with Kim Jong Il dying during an ‘on the spot guidance’ on December 17 — as announced by the North Korean official media on December 19 — is that not much is known about his third son and designated 27-year-old successor, Kim Jong Un. Read more…

Park Chung-hee, the CIA and the bomb
US President Barack Obama (L) shakes hands with his South Korean counterpart Lee Myung-bak during a press conference in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on October 13, 2011. Obama warned North Korea Thursday that it would face deeper isolation and international pressure if it carried out more provocations like those that rattled Asia last year. Obama, standing side-by-side with South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak at the White House, said Pyongyang could however expect greater opportunities if it lived up to its international obligations over its nuclear program. (Photo: AAP)

Authors: Peter Hayes, RMIT and Chung-in Moon, Yonsei University

A declassified 1978 CIA report related to nuclear proliferation during the Park Chung-hee era shows that, far from making South Korea more secure, Park’s toying with the nuclear option made him an unpredictable and even dangerous client who needed restraint in the eyes of US policy makers.

The ROK’s nuclear ambitions, especially in the post-1975 period, resulted in the US threatening to rupture the security alliance if the ROK did not stop its nuclear intransigence. Read more…