Current US Foreign Policy
Click this link for the United Nations webpage (question 3) Foreign Relations with North Korea Background (question 5) On June 25, 1950, North Korean forces invaded South Korea. Led by the United States, a United Nations coalition of 16 countries undertook the defense of South Korea. Following China's entry into the war on behalf of North Korea later that year, a stalemate ensued for the final two years of the conflict until an armistice was concluded on July 27, 1953. A peace treaty has never been signed. North and South Korea have had a difficult and, at times, bitter relationship since the Korean War. The two countries are separated by a demilitarized zone. North Korea has been ruled by successive generations of Kim Il Sung’s family, and its political and economic structure is centrally controlled. The current leader of North Korea is Kim Jong-Un. The United States believes that a constructive and serious dialogue between North and South Korea is necessary to improve inter-Korean relations and to resolve outstanding problems, including the North's attempts to develop a nuclear program and its human rights abuses. Vocab Stalemate: a position counting as a draw or a tie. Armistice: an agreement made by opposing sides in a war to stop fighting for a certain time; a truce. Demilitarized Zone: remove all military forces from an area. Human Rights Abuses (questions 6- 8) Under the rule of Kim Jong-Un, North Korea remains among the world’s most repressive countries. All basic freedoms have been severely restricted under the Kim family’s political dynasty. A 2014 UN Commission of Inquiry found that abuses in North Korea were without parallel in the contemporary world. On December 9, 2016, for the third consecutive year, the UN Security Council put North Korea’s egregious human rights violations record on its formal agenda as a threat to international peace and security. They include extermination, murder, enslavement, torture, imprisonment, rape, forced abortions, and other sexual violence. The North Korean government restricts all basic civil and political liberties for its citizens, including freedom of expression, religion and conscience, assembly and association. It prohibits any organized political opposition, independent media and civil society, and free trade unions. Lack of an independent judiciary, arbitrary arrest and punishment of crimes, torture in custody, forced labor, and executions maintain fear and control. North Korea operates secretive prison camps where perceived opponents of the government are sent to face torture and abuse, starvation rations, and forced labor. Fear of collective punishment is used to silence dissent. There is no independent media, functioning civil society, or religious freedom. Vocab Dissent: hold or express opinions that are at in conflict with those of the government and/or leader Independent Media: News or media sources not controlled by the government Nuclear (question 9-12) North Korea's interest in a nuclear weapons program dates to the end of World War II. There have been various attempts to agree disarmament deals, but none of this has ultimately deterred North Korea. In 2005, North Korea agreed to a landmark deal to give up its nuclear ambitions in return for economic aid and political concessions. In 2008, it destroyed the cooling tower at Yongbyon as part of the disarmament-for-aid deal. But implementing the deal proved difficult and talks stalled in 2009. The US never believed Pyongyang was fully disclosing all of its nuclear facilities - a suspicion bolstered when North Korea unveiled a uranium enrichment facility at Yongbyon. In March 2013, after a war of words with the US and with new UN sanctions over the North's third nuclear test, Pyongyang vowed to restart all facilities at Yongbyon. By 2015, normal operations there appeared to have resumed. The 2016 tests brought international condemnation, including from China - the North's main trading partner, and only ally. During 2017, North Korea fired 23 missiles during 16 tests and conducted its sixth nuclear test, sending tensions between the US and its allies and North Korea to their highest level in decades. In 2017, the UN agreed a new sanctions package in response to the tests. In August, President Donald Trump threatened North Korea with "fire and fury" should the country not abandon its threats against the US. Watch this clip of President Trump’s speech to the UN General Assembly on Sept. 19th, 2017 (questions 14-15) Watch the video titled ‘Kim Jong Un Has Committed 10 Crimes Against Humanity’ (question 18) Watch this video titled ‘What do we really know about Kim Jong Un’ (question 19) Watch the video titled ‘The action movie style trailer Trump says he played to Kim Jong-Un’ (questions 20-21) Go to the website titled ‘Singapore Summit in Pictures’ (question 22) Click the link to read the article titled ‘Trump, Kim Jong Un meet in Singapore: What happened at the historic summit?’ (question 23) Watch the Video of Trump on Kim Jong Un (question 24) Watch the video titled ‘I escaped North Korea. Here’s My Message for President Trump’ (questions 25-26
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