y approach, "outwaiting," is designed to deal with Pyongyang's penchant for mixing soft and hardline approaches--and its calculated ambiguity in policy toward Washington and Seoul. It would be an eclectic counterpoint to Pyongyang's opportunistic stance designed to catch Washington and Seoul off guard, extract concessions from them, and outwait U.S. troop withdrawal from the South. Outwaiting employs aspects of both engagement and pressure. Neither embracive nor hostile, it would refrain from actions that Pyongyang could perceive as provocative or threatening, while avoiding actions that would give support or legitimacy to the Kim Il Sung/Kim Jong Il regime. Crucial to outwaiting are an informed awareness of North Korea's past tactics in dealing with Seoul and, just as important, a U.S. policy continuity. In addition, the United States will need to consult and coordinate with Seoul and Tokyo on their respective policies toward Pyongyang so as not to allow the North to play one party off another. One potential drawback to the "outwaiting" is that without concerted international pressure, North Korea could well end up producing a nuclear weapon. In response, some argue that, left alone to chart its own "self-reliant" transition, North Korea may find that its self-preservation could be better served by collaboration than by what might be called "nuclear isolation." --------------------------------------------------------------------------------1 For comprehensive background information on North Korea, consult the Selected Bibliography at the end of this report. 2 In a retrospective commentary on Soviet-North Korean economic relations, Soviet economist N. Bahanova reports that Soviet aid was responsible for construction of more than 70 facilities producing over one-fourth of the North Korean gross industrial output but that North Korea lost out to South Korea in economic competition. He blames both Moscow and Pyongyang for North Korea's "pr...
