UNDERSTANDING THE NORTH KOREA PROBLEM: WHY IT HAS BECOME THE “LAND OF LOUSY OPTIONS”

This monograph is intended to draw attention to
the challenges faced by the United States in developing
a coordinated strategy for dealing with North Korea.
Despite the many decades of direct U.S. involvement
on the Korean Peninsula, we continue to have
little understanding of the North Korean culture or of
events inside North Korea. We also do not have a longterm
coordinated strategy for North Korea. Over the
past decade, the United States has focused much of its
attention on the Middle East and the War on Terror,
and seems to only focus on North Korea in response
to crises when they arise on the peninsula.