Essay On Effectiveness Of NPT

2750 Words6 Pages

Effectiveness of NPT and its Security Implications in the Asian Region and Worldwide

Introduction
Relations between North and South Korea have seen a spectrum of phases. From a once unified kingdom, to being under colonial rule, to the division created after WWII, the Koreas have endured all different types of stresses that have resulted in two very different and often hostile nations toeing the line of war. In this literature review, we will see that scholars have argued about various situations and factors that could result in an unknown future, including one that could potentially lead to nuclear attacks in regards of effectiveness of the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT). We will look at the scholarship regarding the history that has shaped the Asian region, particularly the Korean peninsula, and what is happening now and why. Also, we are going to evaluate whether the NPT is effective or not and what that means for security implications in the Asian region and the world.

History
The Korean peninsula has gradually been attracting international attention because of North Korea’s refusal of access for International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspection of its nuclear facilities. The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) was signed on July 1, 1968 by USA, USSR and UK. Subsequently, the NPT was opened for signature by other countries and enacted on March 5, 1970. Till date, except India, Pakistan and Israel, all the other 189 member-countries of the UN have signed it. However, North Korea withdrew from the treaty on April 10, 2003. (Jayaprakash) After the collapse of USSR, independent post-Soviet countries started to abandon their nuclear weapon capabilities and decided to cooperate with the international nuclear disarma...

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... argue that NPT is effective because numerous countries including post-Soviet independent states have given up their nuclear power and it has brought insecurity to North Korea. Some scholars complement legitimacy of NPT by arguing that NPT prevents irresponsible states from imposing threat on others.

Ideally, further future research would be able to look into North Korea more closely. Current circumstances in North Korea is nearly impossible for scholars to expand their horizon in research, however information is leaking out by Chinese people that live close to the border, increasing number of illegal cell phone, media users and North Korean refugees. It is a matter of time that we gather more information in regards to North Korea, or any closed communities, such as Iran and even China. Then, we will be able to look at their secretive nuclear development regime.

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