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The article discusses the democratic setbacks in dealing with the issue of denuclearization in the Korean peninsula. The U.S. policy over the nuclear programme of North Korea has been changed since the 1994 agreement under the administration of then-U.S. president Bill Clinton and the declaration of North Korea as part of the "axis of evil" by the administration of then-president George W. Bush in 2003. It notes that the policy of the Bush administration toward North Korea demonstrates the example of a democratic setback.

The Bush Doctrine has important implications for China. It challenges principles that Beijing holds dear with respect to state sovereignty, multipolarity, and the role of international organizations. Continued American primacy in international affairs marginalizes China's importance. In addition, key elements of the Bush Doctrine such as preemption, missile defenses, and a growing U.S. military presence as a result of the war against terrorism directly affect Chinese national security interests. However, while Beijing has a very negative view of the Bush Doctrine, its responses have been more measured and pragmatic. China recognizes its own limitation and the need to avoid direct confrontation with the United States. Its leaders also believe that the Bush Doctrine will have limited application to only a few exceptional cases simply because unilateralism cannot be sustained long in the face of domestic and international opposition. Instead, Beijing seized the opportunity provided by 9-11 and the changing focus of U.S. security policy to expand areas of common interest while minimizing, the impact of differences. How the Bush Doctrine will affect China's interests in the future will depend on how well the two manage their increasingly complex relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ever since North Korea's admission in October 2002 of the existence of a highly-enriched uranium program, the North Korean nuclear problem has gone from bad to worse. Prospects for a peaceful resolution seem dim. North Korea has undertaken a series of brinkmanship measures in response to the staunch American attitude. Both actors are now locked in a dangerous game of chicken without a dear route to a compromise. Why this collision course? Most critical to the issue has been the advent of the Bush Doctrine, which signals a major paradigmatic change in American foreign and defense policy. Its moral absolutism, hegemonic unilateralism, offensive realism, and focus on weapons of mass destruction and global terrorism have radically changed the terms of American engagement with North Korea. This article examines the impact of the Bush Doctrine on the North Korean nuclear problem by showing how it has affected the rise and evolution of the problem, delineates future scenarios of the crisis, and draws some implications for its peaceful resolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]