John F. Kerry's position on

North Korea: After WWII, in 1948, North Korea emerged under the rule of Kim Il-Sung, the "eternal president" of the communist country until his death in 1994. Kim Il-Sung was succeeded by his son, Kim Jong-Il, in 1997. Kim Jong-Il is known internationally as North Korea's leader, but his official title is Chairman of the National Defense Commission and is the leader of the Korean Workers' Party, the communist-government's national group. Today, the country is one of the worst in the world with regards to economic aid, slave labor, human rights, number of political prisoners, and freedom of the press. In 2002, the capital in Pyongyang decided to reactivate a nuclear reactor and expel UN inspectors, giving many countries reason to believe North Korea had reinstated its nuclear weapons programs. Shortly after this decision, the Bush administrations declared the country a member of an "Axis of Evil." From BBC News

Description of candidate's position: Both candidates assume North Korea is a volatile region that has possession of or capabilities to make nuclear weapons and each agree that talks are the necessary venue for resolving the issues. Which kind of talks, however, is the key difference. Kerry has advocated negotiating a "comprehensive agreement" that addresses all areas of concern between North Korea and the U.S. &endash; including security issues, economic issues, human rights violations, and nuclear, chemical, and missile programs &endash; since August of 2003. In the second presidential debate, Kerry specified that these talks would be bilateral, not the six-party talks that Bush advocated in the debate. From the Kerry campaign website

Quotation from the candidate: "With respect to North Korea, the real story: We had inspectors and television cameras in the nuclear reactor in North Korea. Secretary Bill Perry negotiated that under President Clinton. And we knew where the fuel rods were. And we knew the limits on their nuclear power. Colin Powell, our secretary of state, announced one day that we were going to continue the dialog of working with the North Koreans. The president reversed it publicly while the president of South Korea was here. And the president of South Korea went back to South Korea bewildered and embarrassed because it went against his policy. And for two years, this administration didn't talk at all to North Korea. While they didn't talk at all, the fuel rods came out, the inspectors were kicked out, [and] the television cameras were kicked out. And today, there are four to seven nuclear weapons in the hands of North Korea. That happened on this president's watch… I want bilateral talks which put all of the issues, from the armistice of 1952, the economic issues, the human rights issues, the artillery disposal issues, the DMZ issues and the nuclear issues on the table." First Presidential Debate transcript:

Assessment of the proposal:

Positive: The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, although believing that using allies such as South Korea and Japan will eventually be necessary for stabilization in the region, advocates "engaging directly with North Korea" because they claim the U.S. is the key player in the Korean peninsula. Additionally, this nonpartisan organization dedicated to "advancing cooperation between nations" says the U.S. should only gradually include other nations because "North Koreans are insisting that we talk directly with them." From the Carnegie Endowment

Negative: The American Foreign Policy Institute, a conservative think tank, backs an article written by Charles R. Smith that advocates using military force as the Bush administration did with Iraq, predicting that "once the rogue regime acquires nuclear weapons, it will use them against U.S. allies." News Max

Comparison: After Bush declared the nation a part of its "Axis of Evil" &endash; along with Iraq and Iran &endash; many thought the administration would seek military action, as it did with Iraq. However, Bush's only military action against North Korea is to try and beef up a nationwide anti-missile defense system in response to threats of intermediate-range missile capabilities, which administration officials admit they aren't sure the country has. Besides the program, Bush has advocated multilateral talks with North Korea, involving South Korea, Japan, China, and Russia, as well as the U.S.

Link to George W. Bush's issue brief.