April 5, 2016

THE BASICS

Topic: North Korea

Articles

  • “North Korea urges US tohold talks”(4/4) (The Mercury)
  • “North Korea, Nuclear Safety, and Lessons From the Iran Deal”(4/2)(Wilson Center)
  • “Korean Peninsula in state of ‘semiwar,’ denuclearization off table: North’s U.N. envoy”(4/2) (The Japan Times)
  • “North Korea tells citizens to ‘prepare themselves for famine’”(3/30) (Independent)
  • “The dirty reason China can’t always tell North Korea what to do”(3/28) (Business Insider)
  • “North Korean Nuclear Threats Spotlight U.S. Missile Defense” (short video summarizing situation) (3/28) (US News)
  • “Another American Faces Charges in North Korea”(3/25) (Voice of America)
  • “Now North Korea has nothing to lose” (opinion) (3/8) (Aljazeera)

Questions to Consider

  • Where is North Korea? Why does geography play an important part in understanding its positions?
  • What is the history of North and South Korea? How does this division affect attitudes and actions?
  • Does the economy of North Korea influence its actions? What is the current standard of living for North Koreans? What do decisions to spend large amounts of money on missiles rather than basic needs mean for the future of North Korea?
  • What military threats is North Korea making? What makes the threats worrisome? What preparations does the United States need to make to deal with the possibility of long range missile attacks from North Korea? Are peace talks between North Korea and its neighbors possible? Are peace talks between the United States and North Korea possible? What effect have UN sanctions had on encouraging North Korea to negotiate?
  • What are the conditions that escalate tensions on the Korean peninsula in early 2016? What are the prospects for talks between North Korea, South Korea, China, Japan and the United States? Is denuclearization a possibility?
  • What is the affront to “dignity” that creates a violent response from North Korea?How can the world deal with the dangers posed by North Korea?
  • Are economic sanctions effective in pushing North Korea to stop threatening the use of nuclear weapons? Why or why not?
  • How is detention and trial of foreigners a method North Korea uses to send messages to the world and especially to the United States? What rights do accused “criminals” have in North Korea?
  • Who is Kim Jong Un? What is his role in North Korea? How has his family’s rule set a precedent for his type of governing?
  • What do internal changes and disappearances among Kim Jong Un’s advisors signal about the stability of the regime?
  • What role does China play in influencing North Korean policy? What role does coal production play in decisions china makes about North Korea?
  • What does the history of North Korea relations tell us about the present threat?
  • What was the Korean War?
  • What can the United Nations do to discourage North Korea’s war preparations?
  • How does the isolation of North Korea add to concern about nuclear weapons?
  • Does the economic success of South Korea create national envy on the part of North Korea? What is the current state of relations between North and South Korea? How is the United States connected to this relationship?
  • “North Korea: U.S. Relations, Nuclear Diplomacy, and Internal Situation”
  • Do the nuclear tests and successful long-range missile launch fundamentally change the strategic calculus?
  • Has North Korea’s capacity to hurt U.S. interests increased to the point that new diplomatic and perhaps military options should be considered more carefully?
  • What could the Six Party Talks achieve is North Korea insists on recognition as a nuclear-armed state?
  • Does the United States need a strategy that relies less on Beijing’s willingness to punish Pyongyang?
  • Do North Korea’s nuclear advances mean that the Obama administration’s approach (known as “strategic patience”) is too risky to continue?
  • Should the United States pursue engagement initiatives that push for steps toward denuclearization?

THE EXTRAS

Pre-teaching, Extensions & Further Reading

  • “Korean War”(History.com)
  • “Why Analysts Aren’t Laughing At These Silly North Korean Photos”(3/21) (Parallels)
  • “The United States and North Korea”(Brookings)

Lesson Plans

  • “Decision Point: Understanding the U.S.’s Dilemma Over North Korea”(2013)(The Learning Network)
  • “A Tale of Two Heavens: Escaping North Korea” (grades 9-12) (Wide Angle)

What’s the Connection?

Constitutional

  • “Lesson 1.2: Comparing the Constitutions of North Korea and South Korea”(Council for Economic Education)

Oregon

  • “College friends seek release of former University of Oregon student Kenneth Bae from North Korean prison”(10/11/13) (Oregonlive.com)
  • “Why did North Korea release Kenneth Bae and Matthew Todd Miller?”(11/12/14) (The New Yorker)

Students

  • “North Korea Sentences Otto Warmbier, U.S. Student, to 15 Years’ Labor”(3/16) (The NY Times)

Oregon State Social Science Standards

8.26. Examine a controversial event, issue, or problem from more than one perspective.

HS.28. Evaluate how governments interact at the local, state, tribal, national, and global levels.

HS.31. Describe United States foreign policy and evaluate its impact on the United States and other countries.

CCSS Anchor Standards

2. Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development; summarize the key supporting details and ideas.

4. Interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text, including determining technical, connotative, and figurative meanings, and analyze how specific word choices shape meaning or tone.

6. Assess how point of view or purpose shapes the content and style of a text.

7. Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse media and formats, including visually and quantitatively, as well as in words.

8. Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, including the validity of the reasoning as well as the relevance and sufficiency of the evidence.

We the People Lesson Connections

Middle School, Level 2

  • Unit 6, Lesson 28: What is the relationship of the United States to other nations in the world?

High School, Level 3

  • Unit 6, Lesson 38: What are the challenges of the participation of the United States in world affairs?