North Korea is a country of paradoxes and contradictions. Although it remains an economic basket case that cannot feed and clothe its own people, it nevertheless possesses one of the world's largest armed forces. Whether measured in terms of the total number of personnel in uniform, numbers of special operations soldiers, the size of its submarine fleet, quantity of ballistic missiles in its arsenal, or its substantial weapons of mass destruction programs, Pyongyang is a major military power.

Content:

North Korea's Military Threat

Conventional Forces

Unconventional Forces

Overall Conclusions

The North Korean Ballistic Missile Program

DPRK National Strategy and Motivations

Historical Background of DPRK Missile Development

Institutional Setting

Conclusion

U.S. Government Policy Toward North Korea

Countering the North Korean Threat (New Steps in U.S. Policy)

Pressuring North Korea (Evaluating Options)

President Donald Trump on Current Crisis on the Korean Peninsula

A Message to the Congress of the United States on the Continuation of the National Emergency with Respect to North Korea

Continuation of the National Emergency with Respect to North Korea

Statement from the President on North Korea's Second ICBM Launch

Statement by President Donald J. Trump on North Korea

About the Authors