US-Japan-North Korea Security Relations: Irrepressible Interests

This book examines the major security and related issues between the United States, Japan and North Korea (officially, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea – DPRK).

The central purpose of the book is to analyze the policymaking processes of Washington, Tokyo and Pyongyang with respect to the DPRK’s nuclear weapons and other important security issues, and ultimately to provide practical ways to improve the security environment in Northeast Asia. Ongoing security-related issues examined here include nuclear and missile testing by the DPRK; its removal from the US list of states sponsoring terrorism, and the abduction of Japanese nationals by North Korean agents that occurred during the 1970s and 1980s. Unlike many other books, which typically take the position that North Korea is a rogue state run by an irrational, belligerent and autocratic leader, this book reveals the fundamentals of Pyongyang’s security concerns in the region.

This book will be of great interest to students of Northeast Asian politics, Asian security studies, US foreign policy and security studies/IR in general.