North Korea’s hostage strategy packs more bite in post-Iran US shake-up
March 4, 2026 at 07:39 AM
By Park Chan-kyong
For decades, North Korea’s most potent insurance policy has been the threat it poses to Seoul, guaranteeing that any US move against Kim Jong-un’s regime would first exact an unbearable toll on the South.
Now, a new Pentagon blueprint may have just offered that survival strategy Washington’s seal of approval.
The new National Defence Strategy, presented to a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Tuesday, calls on Seoul to take “primary” responsibility for deterring North Korea, with...
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For decades, North Korea’s most potent insurance policy has been the threat it poses to Seoul, guaranteeing that any US move against Kim Jong-un’s reg For decades, North Korea’s most potent insurance policy has been the threat it poses to Seoul, guaranteeing that any US move against Kim Jong-un’s reg Monitor developments in North for further updates.
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For decades, North Korea’s most potent insurance policy has been the threat it poses to Seoul, guara
For decades, North Korea’s most potent insurance policy has been the threat it poses to Seoul, guaranteeing that any US move against Kim Jong-un’s regime would first exact an unbearable toll on the South.
Now, a new Pentagon blueprint may have just offered that survival strategy Washington’s seal of approval.
The new National Defence Strategy, presented to a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Tuesday, calls on Seoul to take “primary” responsibility for deterring North Korea, with...
AdvertisementNorth KoreaThis Week in AsiaPoliticsNorth Korea’s hostage strategy packs more bite in post-Iran US shake-upThe Pentagon wants Seoul to shoulder more of its defence burden. Analysts say it may have strengthened Kim Jong-un’s hand instead4-MIN READ4-MIN ListenPark Chan-kyongPublished: 3:39pm, 4 Mar 2026For decades, North Korea’s most potent insurance policy has been the threat it poses to Seoul, guaranteeing that any US move against Kim Jong-un’s regime would first exact an unbearable toll on the South.Now, a new Pentagon blueprint may have just offered that survival strategy Washington’s seal of approval.The new National Defence Strategy, presented to a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Tuesday, calls on Seoul to take “primary” responsibility for deterring North Korea, with “critical but more limited” US support.AdvertisementSuch a formulation reflects US President Donald Trump’s long-held stance that allies should shoulder more of their own defence burden. But for Pyongyang, analysts say it reads more like a strategic windfall.The North will take the South hostage to ward off the risk of the United States mounting attacksOh Gyeong-seob, political analyst“The North will take the South hostage to ward off the risk of the United States mounting attacks to remove its leadership, as it did in Iran and Venezuela,” said political analyst Oh Gyeong-seob, a senior research fellow at the Korea Institute for National Unification.AdvertisementIf Seoul, not Washington, is the primary line of defence, then Seoul is also the primary target of any retaliation. That asymmetry has always been central to Pyongyang’s deterrence logic. Analysts say this new US strategy does nothing to weaken it.AdvertisementSelect VoiceSelect Speed0.8x0.9x1.0x1.1x1.2x1.5x1.75x00:0000:001.00x
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