Economic Sanctions on North Korea and their Impact on the Country’s Relationship with the United States
North Korea has made headlines for all the wrong reasons as it frequently faces sanctions from the West. Although it is one of the most heavily sanctioned countries, North Korea still manages to maintain its political ideologies. Under the administration of Kim Jong Un, North Korea has suffered imminent economic collapse and seclusion from the international community. There have been fears that the country intends to use its nuclear weapons to attack the United States, resulting in the sanctioning of all weapon materials headed to North Korea. The aim of the sanctions was to prevent the country from developing nuclear weapons. Despite these sanctions, it has been able to develop the weapons and even perform tests. Therefore, North Korea poses a serious security threat to the United States. Since sanctions have not brought about the desired effect, the most effective way through which America can eliminate this threat is by working towards regime change in the Asian nation.
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At the outset, it is worthwhile to note that the imposed sanctions have been implemented progressively, yet North Korea has proved defiant in its violation of existing international regulations on the development of nuclear weapons and human rights protections. The intensity of the sanctions is growing, and food scarcity is becoming a reality in North Korea. The recent testing of nuclear weapons by the Kim Jong Un administration has led to a decrease in the flow of foreign aid into the country. Over the last years, the country has been forced to rely on food aid to feed its starving population. It is ironic that the government has made the development of nuclear weapons a priority, and critical issues like food security and the provision of other essential services have been neglected. The regime is mainly dictatorial, and people are expected to support the government despite its refusal to serve all their needs. The sanctions have affected agriculture in North Korea following a reduction in agricultural exports. Such limitations have affected the economy adversely over time since the country has had to rely on either foreign aid or imports.
Meanwhile, America’s main worry is North Korea’s acquisition of nuclear arsenal. It is considered a sponsor of terrorism, many nations are worried about what North Korea could do with its nuclear power. The United States has imposed sanctions involving the freezing of assets of all individuals or corporations that engage in illegal arms trade with the country. These sanctions are being implemented on a global scale, and this has greatly limited the country’s ability to continue with its nuclear program. However, it was still able to use illegal means to acquire the materials it needed to develop nuclear weapons. The worst part is that North Korea has even tested several nuclear weapons, leading to devastating environmental impacts.
Moreover, the hacking of Sony Corporation’s systems in the United States by North Korea has caused worry in many countries. It was carried out with the aim of compromising sensitive data belonging to the entertainment company, one of the outcomes being the cancelation of a movie that was to be based on the dictatorial rule of North Korea’s leader. The movie’s cancellation was shortlived since its release commenced soon afterward. This hacking led to the United States’ decision to freeze the assets of all implicated companies and Korean individuals. The move has greatly affected the economy of North Korea. It has also discouraged many North Korean businesspeople from investing in the United States.
Unfortunately, the sanctions imposed on this country are proving to be ineffective because they have triggered similar challenges for decades. Time has come for Americal to look for alternatives. The fact that North Korea’seconomy does not rely heavily on the West has also played in its favor. Its biggest trading partners are its allies from the Cold War. The country is improving in terms of economic development. This situation could be attributed to the country’s growing emphasis on economic development. This is bad news for the West because it renders sanctions an ineffective tool for preventing North Korea from developing nuclear power weapons. Should North Korea succeed in stabilizing its economy despite all the sanctions imposed on the regime, this would prove that sanctions are not as effective as Western nations believe. In this case, regime change would be the best strategy in America’s quest to deal with the threat posed by North Korea.
In conclusion, North Korea and the United States have an unstable relationship with rather limited economic ties. However, the actions of the two countries seem to affect each other in different ways. Following the imposition of sanctions, North Korean products cannot be exported to Western countries. The country has been forced to rely on onits relations with its allies from the Asian continent for survival. Nevertheless, the North Korean situation shows that sanctions are not an effective way of compelling a country to halt the development of nuclear weapons. Thus, America should consider forcing regime change in the Asian nation as this is the surest way of eliminating the nuclear threat.
