[학술논문] Civilian Control and Strategic Force Formation: How Military Autonomy Drives Organizational Change

...examines strategic force formation through cross‐national statistical analysis and a case study of North Korea's Strategic Rocket Force. Using mixed methods, we investigate how civilian control influences the establishment of specialized organizations for managing strategic weapons. Our analysis reveals that lower civilian control significantly increases the likelihood of separate strategic force formation...

[학술논문] Opening Pandora's Box: Is South Korea's Nuclearization Feasible and Desirable?

...limited security benefits and negative trade‐offs, limiting its desirability as a long‐term strategic solution. This article contributes to the literature by offering a critical yet holistic perspective on the implications of South Korea's nuclearization, urging policymakers, and the public not to view nuclear weapons as a panacea, but rather to weigh their risks and benefits alongside alternative security...

[학술논문] 한미상호방위조약 체결을 위한 이승만 정부의 협상전략

...strategy was able to made the conclusion of the ROK-US Mutual Defense Treaty. Hereafter, the ROK will confront simultaneously in the North Korea's direct threat including asymmetrical weapon and nuclear weapons, with potential threat to the surrounding faced at the same time such as escalation of territorial conflict by neighboring, terror by hostile actor etc. In addition, due to defense reform and the...

[학술논문] Lessons from Russia's Nuclear Forward‐Deployment to Belarus for the USA and South Korea

Following Belarus's request, Russia deployed its nuclear weapons to Belarus within one or two years, whereas the USA has not even engaged in discussions on a similar option for South Korea, which has faced an existential nuclear threat from North Korea. This article seeks to extract key insights from Belarus's experience and propose corresponding policy implications for the US–South Korea alliance...

[학술논문] ROK-U.S. Cooperation in Preparation for Hostile Actions by North Korea in Possession of Nuclear Weapons

...not only as a means of deterrence but also as a military leverage to threaten the very existence of South Korea. Considering the current pattern of North Korea’s behavior and the geopolitical and strategic implications for the Korean peninsula, the U.S. promise of extended deterrence for South Korea appears to have many limitations. In fact, as demonstrated in the sinking of the ROK naval frigate Cheonan...

[해외] Why Japan and South Korea Won’t Go Nuclear

...principles—to not possess or produce nuclear weapons or allow them to enter Japanese territory—remains strong, but over 56 percent of Japanese people support an open debate about these once taboo issues. But despite the fever pitch of the debate, the worry that South Korea and Japan are on the brink of nuclearization is exaggerated. The majority of “strategic elites”—current and former officials, business...

[해외] Assessing the Impact of the US’ New Foreign Policy Approach on North Korea’s Arms Trafficking Activity

...White House views as adversaries could heighten their military capabilities to avoid becoming the next Venezuela. It is through this strategic lens that the omission of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea or DPRK) from the latest NSS creates a strategic blind spot for the White House. Despite its moniker as the “hermit kingdom,” North Korea is and always has been an active participant...

[해외] Eight Lessons for North Korea’s Nuclear and Missile Forces From the Ongoing Iran Conflict

... and we may never see this kind of messaging, assessing key aspects of the ongoing Epic Fury operation given the North’s strategic situation and force posture results in eight key lessons for its nuclear and missile forces. These include the value of retaining nuclear weapons and the risks of US military buildups, the need to address leadership and road-mobile missile vulnerabilities, and the effectiveness...

[해외] Revisiting North Korea’s Nuclear Tests

...nuclear test for the Hwasan-31 tactical nuclear warhead (revealed by state media in 2023 but never tested), testing may not be technically necessary. However, if Pyongyang decides to resume nuclear weapons testing, a new cycle might not only involve tactical nuclear warheads, but possibly also a new generation of further miniaturized devices suitable for more use cases, such as multiple independently...

[해외] Assessing North Korea’s Five-Year Effort to Develop 13 New Nuclear and Missile Systems

...ambitions. Solid-propellant intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), tactical nuclear weapons, and land-attack cruise missiles (LACMs)—all probably deployed since January 2021—have made the most important contributions to North Korea’s military capabilities. Of the other systems, multiple-warhead strategic missiles would offer the greatest potential to increase the North’s nuclear strike capability...