Professor lectures on politics surrounding North Korea

Last week, Dr. Bruce Bechtol came to Tech to talk about his arguments and ideas concerning Northeast Asia focusing specifically on North Korea and the threat the nation poses.

In his lecture, Dr. Bechtol explored the threat that North Korea poses, especially by its proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. His argument is supported by his new book Red Rogue. He explains that the book is divided into two parts: the first identifies and examines the threat, and the second presents solutions to the problem.

Dr. Bechtol continued to clarify the situation in North Korea.

"I think one needs to be very careful in being overly optimistic about North Korea getting rid of their nuclear program," said Dr. Bechtol.

His reason is that one of the most important priorities of Kim Jong-Il is to improve and strengthen North Korea's military. If the North Korean government wishes to have some sort of leverage in the international community, it must, at this point, have a military force by which to substantiate itself.

One of the main obstacles the North Korean government faces, though, is that Russia, a longtime supporter, has stopped subsidizing them. Much of this subsidization was that of military support. Now that a world power is not aiding North Korea, they need an alternative route. Dr. Bechtol rationalized the United States' role in the international arena, by reasoning that the United States should take serious caution with the North Korean military by advancing and renewing arms.

These necessary upgrades for North Korea come with a huge price. Many of the tanks and heavy artillery in North Korea are no match for that of the United States, to say nothing of each country's air force.

However, that is not to say that North Korea is indistinguishable-they have SCUD missiles with a superior range, Special Operations exceeding 200,000 people and have been pursuing nuclear proliferation with some degree of success. In his opinion, Dr. Bechtol defends that Kim Jong-Il has been successful in his military pursuits.

Even with all the arms they wish to have, North Korea would still have substantial limitations diplomatically. Two of the main necessary supporters for North Korea are China and South Korea. China is an obvious choice: it has a powerful economy and it receives a great deal of autonomy from the world's superpower, the U.S.

Dr. Bechtol gives an example of how North Korea may lose Chinese backing. In 2008, the Summer Olympics will be held in China. However, Kim Jong-Il does not keep his best soldiers at the border between North Korea and China; hypothetically, many North Korean refugees could illegally immigrate to China.

The Summer Olympics is a huge event that results in effective public relations for any nation that hosts the event. If thousands of poor, angry or disaffected refugees are roaming the streets of Beijing, China will not receive a great deal of popularity. In this way, Dr. Bechtol explains, North Korea must go out of its way to establish effective diplomacy with nearby nations.

South Korea is also an important ally to have. In the Korean peninsula, one nation will find it difficult to act without the compliance of the other. South Korea itself already has strong backing, and according to Dr. Bechtol, North Korea cannot and will not go to war without backing from its counterpart.

Even among these obstructions to expanding their military might, North Korea still poses a threat with its future weapons of mass destruction.

According to Dr. Bechtol, they could theoretically hide the products of their nuclear proliferation in secret caches. "They have not even allowed us to inspect any of their nuclear weapons yet, only facilities that manufacture the weapons...and only the plutonium weapons. We need to be very careful," Bechtol said.

Furthermore, the "dismantling" of their nuclear products has only extended to the factories that produce the weapons. These factories could only be the plutonium-based facilities, where North Korea has publicly admitted to possessing a uranium-enriched program.

Even with the possession of these hazardous materials, North Korea has several years to go before it can truly expand its arms. Until then, the U.S. and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea can establish diplomatic guidelines by which to compromise and promote a nonviolent resolution towards each other.

"For those who don't follow Korea, it might be a good idea to start doing so. A lot of people don't realize that 28 percent of our commerce takes place in Northeast Asia," Dr. Bechtol says. He recommends that people should keep up with the news because our governments will soon become involved very intrinsically.

Dr. Bechtol is an associate professor of International Relations at the Marine Corps Command & Staff College. A former Defense Intelligence Agency officer and Marine, Dr. Bechtol has lived in South Korea and returns there frequently. Also the former editor of the Defense Intelligence Journal, he now sits on the Editorial Advisory Board of the East Asian Review.

Dr. Bechtol's book Red Rogue is published by Potomac Books, Inc. and is available at most major booksellers.