Korean Endgame: A Strategy for Reunification and U.S. Disengagement (Century Foundation Book) [Hardcover]

Selig S. Harrison (Author)

Book Description

Series: Century Foundation Book | Publication Date: April 2002

Nearly half a century after the fighting stopped, the 1953 Armistice has yet to be replaced with a peace treaty formally ending the Korean War. While Russia and China withdrew the last of their forces in 1958, the United States maintains 37,000 troops in South Korea and is pledged to defend it with nuclear weapons. In Korean Endgame, Selig Harrison mounts the first authoritative challenge to this long-standing U.S. policy. Harrison shows why North Korea is not - as many policymakers expect - about to collapse. And he explains why existing U.S. policies hamper North-South reconciliation and reunification. Assessing North Korean capabilities and the motivations that have led to its forward deployments, he spells out the arms control concessions by North Korea, South Korea, and the United States necessary to ease the dangers of confrontation, centering on reciprocal U.S. force redeployments and U.S. withdrawals in return for North Korean pullbacks from the thirty-eighth parallel. Similarly, he proposes specific trade-offs to forestall the North's development of nuclear weapons and missile delivery systems, calling for the withdrawal of the U.S. nuclear umbrella in conjunction with agreements to denuclearize Korea embracing China, Russia, and Japan. The long-term goal of U.S. policy, he argues, should be the full disengagement of U.S. combat forces from Korea as part of regional agreements insulating the peninsula from all foreign conventional and nuclear forces. A veteran journalist with decades of extensive firsthand knowledge of North Korea and long-standing contacts with leaders in Washington, Seoul, and Pyongyang, Harrison is perfectly placed to make these arguments. Throughout, he supports his analysis with revealing accounts of conversations with North Korean, South Korean, and U.S. leaders over thirty-five years. Combining probing scholarship with a seasoned reporter's on-the-ground experience and insights, he has given us the definitive book on U.S. policy in Korea - past, present, and future.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"All in all, Korean Endgame provides the reader a meaty plate for consideration". -- Forrest R. Pitts, Parameters

At a time when North Korean nuclear developments have created a crisis in world affairs, we are fortunate to have this thoughtful and provocative book. -- Review

North Korean nuclear developments have created a crisis in world affairs. . . . [T]his [is a] thoughtful and provocative book. -- Lucian W. Pye, Foreign Affairs

From the Inside Flap

Harrison's fair-minded and well-researched book makes a timely contribution to American understanding of relations with North Korea. His reportage on North Korean points of view are gleaned from his years of first-hand contact. He uncovers much that has never appeared in print and clears up numerous misunderstandings. Accessible to anyone curious about foreign affairs, the book is a must-read for anyone interested in Korea or the region.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 448 pages
• Publisher: Princeton University Press (April 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 069109604X
• ISBN-13: 978-0691096049
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.7 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,253,734 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Concise and Well-Researched, December 4, 2003

By 

P. Johnson (Milwaukee, WI) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Korean Endgame: A Strategy for Reunification and U.S. Disengagement (Century Foundation Book) (Hardcover)

I went into this book with the normal American preconceptions about North Korean stability and their aggressive track record. The author takes the time to lay out the reasons - and offers concrete steps for all sides that, if carried out, would end the Korean War once and for all. Significant research went into this book. I have yet to find a more well-researched and documented presentation on the historical and present state of Korea, and what it will take to finally declare the end of the war and reduce the $40B spent anually to drag it out.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Commentary on Selig Harrison's Korean Endgame, September 19, 2005

By 

R. J. Lavey "Image Admirer" (Vienna, VA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Korean Endgame: A Strategy for Reunification and U.S. Disengagement (Century Foundation Book) (Paperback)

For a long time I have been searching for a book that addresses the potentially explosive issue of Korea, and even more specifically North Korea. Is Kim Jong Il a madman? What is he seeking? For answers to these questions, and even more imporant ones, this is a book worth reading.

Because I served in Korea during the war, I am more than a little interested in what takes place there. Mr. Harrison's evenhanded account of events over the past few years gave me a better understanding of the Korean situation. If only certain elements in the US government gave this a read, I think all of us would benefit.