One of the greatest long-term threats to world stability is the threat of spreading nuclear weapons and the means to deliver these weapons. In the forefront of this threat is North Korea, which is developing a nuclear arsenal with the intentions of selling its military hardware. This is also the most difficult problem facing the United States and South Korea today. In light of this, there is no good solution to curbing the North's ambition. Preemption, Quarantine, and Incentives all carry unacceptable risks.
             A policy of preemption will risk the destruction of Seoul and the death of hundreds of thousands of our allies in the South. With the North's advanced missile and mortar capability, military analysts face an inevitable crisis if the US and her allies do use initial force. Like the problem that faced the United States in the cold war against the Soviets, the South's key military and civilian instillations are locked on to by the North's medium range missiles and cannons that carry the capability of firing shells deep into the heart of Seoul. It is impossible to take out all these threats with a first wave strike.
             A policy of quarantine would leave the North Korean war machine in operation and would only hope to prevent the exporting of deadly weapons. In this scenario, The United States would use its Naval capabilities to blockade North Korea, searching all outbound shipping from North Korea for missile components and nuclear elements. In the short term this may seem feasible but in the long term, when North Korea has built a number of functioning nuclear warheads, it is probable that they will find an undercover way to move the warheads out of the country to our other enemies.
             As in the case with Yemen in December 2002 a Spanish Naval vessel stopped a North Korean ship carrying 15 medium range missiles accompanied with chemical agents on route to Yemen. Since the 1980's it is esti...