Rethinking Avenues to Resolve North Korean Nuclear Issues: Bilateral Relations or Multilateral Coordination?

Abstract

Since the easing trend of the situation of the Korean peninsula in 2018, active and positive changes have occurred in the bilateral relationship between North Korea and South Korean/the US/China as well as between China and South Korea. In this scenario, the bilateral relationship between North Korea and South Korea or the US has been considered to be the main avenue to resolve the North Korean nuclear issues. However, in essence, the formation and development of the North Korean nuclear issues are the consequences of the multilateral factors, which also embody the limitations of the bilateral relations of North Korea and the US/South Korea. The future complete resolution of the North Korea nuclear issues should be dependent on the framework of multilateralism driven by the bilateral relations.