Confronting Security Challenges on the Korean Peninsula

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The Korean Peninsula was and is in a state of flux. More than 60 years after the war that left the country divided, the policies and unpredictability of the North Korean regime, in conjunction with the U.S. alliance with South Korea and the involvement of China in the area, leave the situation there one of the most capricious on the globe.

Confronting Security Challenges on the Korean Peninsula presents the opinions from experts on the subject matter from the policy, military, and academic communities. Drawn from talks at a conference in September 2010 at Marine Corps University, the papers explore the enduring security challenges, the state of existing political and military relationships, the economic implications of unification, and the human rights concerns within North and South Korea. They also reiterate the importance for the broader East Asia region of peaceful resolution of the Korean issues.

The panels addressed important issues relevant for both the present and future of the Korean Peninsula that remain important for the analysis and

planning of future military operations and diplomatic relationships. The peninsula is also an important security pivot in U.S. foreign policy and

military planning in the region--and one that will continue to be the focus of attention for Washington because of the importance of the ROK-U.S.

alliance, and the unpredictable instability of the North Korean regime.

On the first panel, "Strategic Challenges on the Korean Peninsula," all three of the papers presented are included as chapters in this book. .All of the

individuals who were kind enough to contribute their chapters to this volume are former active duty U.S. or South Korean military personnel who

continue to contribute to the scholarship relating to Korea through their work with the government and policy communities.

In chapter 2, "North Korea's Strategy of Compellence, Provocations, and the Northern Limit Line," Robert M. Collins discusses the discernible

patterns of security policy that North Korea has displayed in recent years. To do this, he addresses many recent and important issues, such as the

sinking of the ROK Navy corvette Cheonan, North Korea's brinkmanship and provocations, and possible actions that the ROK-U.S. alliance can take

to deter these actions.

In the second paper (chapter 3) from the first panel, "ee ROK-U.S. Military Alliance: Transformation and Change," Cheon Seongwhun

suggests a unique and comprehensive approach to strengthening the alliance in light of the complex relationships and history that has existed between

these two great nations. He offers policy recommendations and important perspectives that provide balance and shed light on the political, military,

and cultural issues that play a role in giving us all a better understanding of what many consider to be Washington's most important security

relationship in East Asia.

Doug Joong Kim, in the third paper from the first panel (chapter 4), discusses how South Korean policy has changed dramatically since the

election of President LeeMyung-bak.Kim makes a compelling case for the school of thought that since President Lee's inauguration, South Korea has

been far more capable of containing North Korean aggression, of moving closer to its key ally the United States, and improving its stature and

operational readiness as a force for security and stability in Northeast Asia.

The second panel of the symposium was important because it addressed an issue that has come to the forefront since the revelations of Kim Jongil's

poor health--"Planning for Contingencies on the Korean Peninsula." It has now become apparent from recent events in the North, that present and

future planning must involve not only experts from the military, but also the international and geo-political arenas, regional specialists, and various

national and international agencies from both the United States and our allies. It was in the spirit of this important "whole of government approach"

and doctrine that the second panel was convened.

In chapter 5, Joseph S. Bermudez Jr. of Jane's DefenceWeekly addresses both the conventional and unconventional military threat that North Korea

poses in his composition. Bermudez has written a simply brilliant essay that--by the numbers--destroys many fallacies and rumors about North

Korea's true military capabilities. Those who have an interest in the North Korean order of battle, combat capabilities, and strategic military agenda,

will find this chapter to be both interesting, and quite compelling.

U.S. Army Colonel David Maxwell, a member of the faculty at the National Defense University and one of the other presenters on the second

panel, has contributed the chapter entitled, "IrregularWarfare on the Korean Peninsula." In his essay, Colonel Maxwell, an expert and experienced

military planner and Special Forces officer, seeks to "explore some of the potential outcomes on the Korean Peninsula following either collapse of

the Kim family regime or following conventional and unconventional conflict with North Korea as well as to examine some of the possible ways

to prepare for and deal with those outcomes."

The third and final panel of the symposium was important because it provided interesting analysis regarding an issue that is not often discussed at military conferences--human rights. Entitled, "Human Rights and the Future of North Korea," the panel presents three papers that address this issue from distinctly different perspectives. Our contributors provide chapters that address human rights in North Korea from the diverse perspectives of a huma