Deterrence can manage immediate threats, but what would it take to prepare for lasting peace?

In an interview with UPI, Korea security expert David Maxwell outlines a two-track approach: maintaining strong deterrence while preparing politically, economically, and diplomatically for the possibility of Korean unification.

As reported by Hyojoon Jeon:

South Korea and the United States should prepare for Korean unification while maintaining strong deterrence against North Korea, David Maxwell, executive director of the Korea Regional Review, said Friday, warning that fear and misinformation could lead North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to a catastrophic military miscalculation.

 

In an interview with UPI following the 2026 One Korea International Forum in Seoul, Maxwell discussed the risk of war, denuclearization, the economic possibilities of unification, China’s preparations for change on the Korean Peninsula, the recent DMZ mine incident and the war in Ukraine.

 

Maxwell, who is also vice president of the Center for Asia Pacific Strategy and a retired U.S. Army Special Forces colonel with more than 30 years in the Asia-Indo-Pacific region, said a worst-case scenario could develop if deteriorating conditions inside North Korea led Kim to believe his personal survival or that of his regime was threatened.

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