North Korea

While North Korea appears to be opening its doors, although slowly, to the international community, Kim Jong Il's fear of loosing power and his push for nuclear capability make it difficult for the United States to continue to promote engagement activities without a regime change, or, at a minimum, a fundamental change of policy in Pyongyang. That being said, the 2006 Bush administration's National Security Strategy of the United States emphasizes that "we will encourage and reward good behavior rather than reinforce negative behavior."1 In the past, as described by Young Whan Kihl in North Korea: The Politics of Regime Survival, North Korea took "measures on the international front that indicated a strong effort to strengthen its economic and strategic position. It reached out to the European Union (EU) seeking an expansion of diplomatic relations with some success, and indicated a desire to be more active in international and regional organizations.