S. However, the nation's powerful military and unpredictable nature make it a significant threat to world peace. North Korea's military strength belies its weakness in all other areas. The economy is essentially non-functional, the people struggle to survive and non-military accomplishments are few and far between. Yet, North Korea is a nuclear power, which gives it great strength and makes it a nation of acute interest for the United States. Containing the North Korean threat is one of the most significant foreign policy challenges in the world today for the U.S. And its allies. North Korea represents a significant threat to U.S. allies in South Korea and Japan. The country is technically still at war with South Korea and has no diplomatic relations with the United States. The current strategy with respect to the Korean War is to keep the situation from once again becoming an open conflict. The U.S., China and other interested parties engage in sporadic dialogue with North Korea in an attempt to keep the situation contained. Open conflict is not in the best interests of any nation.

It is also believed that North Korea represents a direct threat to the United States. Although early North Korean nuclear and missile tests have yielded underwhelming results, it is feared that the country will one day develop missiles with the capability of striking U.S. territory on the Pacific coast. The current strategy is one of negotiation and containment - the U.S. wishes to reduce North Korea's nuclear capacity, slow its pace of technological development and place focus on otherwise containing the threat (Kirk, 2009). Long-range objectives, albeit unstated, must be the overthrow of the current regime and bringing the country into the modern era.

Conclusion

North Korea, a theological dictatorship in northeast Asia, has one of the world's largest militaries, has nuclear capabilities and spends a quarter of its GDP on military spending. This, combined with an erratic, paranoid leader, makes the country...

The people are brainwashed by their government to give absolute loyalty.
As such, North Korea is a significant threat to the U.S. And her allies in South Korea (with whom the North is still at war) and Japan. The present U.S. strategy is diplomatic in nature, focusing on containment of the threat. Open conflict is, at present, not a viable option. Yet in the long run, regime change will be necessary to eliminate the threat current presented by North Korea.

If the North Korean nation is not contained, hostilities could erupt that would have grave consequences for world peace. It is amazing that an otherwise bankrupt country can represent such a threat. But the military in North Korea is Kim Jong-Il's number one vanity project. Kim is the driving force behind North Korea. If he doesn't want to feed his people, he doesn't. If he wants better brew, he buys a brewery. If he wants nuclear weapons, he develops them. If he wants to use nuclear weapons, he will. That is the crux of the threat that North Korea represents. For now, containment is the best option, but other options cannot be ruled out simply because of the gravity of the threat.

Works Cited

No author. (2000). North Korea buys English Brewery. BBC. Retrieved March 6, 2009 at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/1009685.stm

No author. (2009). North Korea. CIA World Factbook. Retrieved March 6, 2009 from https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/kn.html

No author. (2009). North Korea. United States Department of State. Retrieved March 6, 2009 at http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2792.htm

Faiola, Anthony. (2005). N. Korea Declares Itself a Nuclear Power. Washington Post. Retrieved March 6, 2009 at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A12836-2005Feb10.html

Kirk, Donald. (2009). North Korea Fills the Air with Threats. Asia Times. Retrieved March 6, 2009 at http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Korea/KC07Dg01.html