Columbia International Affairs Online: Policy Briefs

CIAO DATE: 07/2009

North Korea: Getting Back to Talks

June 2009

International Crisis Group

Abstract

The latest policy report from the International Crisis Group examines the international community’s options in the wake of the test and the UNSC resolution. It is being published simultaneously with two background reports on the country’s military capabilities: North Korea’s Nuclear and Missile Programs and North Korea’s Chemical and Biological Weapons Programs. International condemnation is only the first step. Major efforts must be made to keep North Korea from expanding its arsenal and exporting know-how and materials to other countries and non-state actors. But if the nuclear problem is ever to be resolved, the international community also needs to get North Korea back to the negotiating table.