북핵 대응 패러다임 전환을 위한 전략적 대응 방안 검토

Abstract

North Korea's nuclear weapons program, which has reached a critical point, has risen beyond the level of threat to the level of crisis. If North Korea secures strategic and tactical nuclear weapons at the level and quantity demanded by the North, the clock of fate on the Korean Peninsula is likely to flow in a favorable direction for the North. Depending on North Korea's strategic nuclear capability, the U.S. seems to have limitations in providing expanded deterrence, but it cannot leave the country's survival to customized deterrence strategies. When it is difficult to cope with a crisis in the current way, strategic thinking at the level of paradigm shift is needed, and the paradigm shift in response to North Korean nuclear threats should begin with national information under South Korea's security policy decision-making system. This is because the intelligence report prepared by the NIS can have a significant impact on the perception of the president, the top policymaker, and participants of the National Security Council. At the paradigm shift level, the concept of response is "preparing and implementing a breakthrough level of measures to respond to North Korea's nuclear threat," and measures to be reviewed will include "development of nuclear weapons under NPT consultation, introduction of NATO-style nuclear sharing system, and revision of the Korea-U.S. mutual defense treaty. Each plan functions individually or organically, is effective in responding to the North Korean nuclear threat, and is expected to contribute decisively to South Korea's defense. North Korea's nuclear weapons program is a clear crisis, but South Korea can use the North Korean nuclear threat as an opportunity to enhance its national security capabilities. And the beginning will have to come from strategic thinking and national intelligence.