On North Korea, President Obama Needs George F. Kennan

Zachary Przystup

Security,

Kennan recognized the limits of U.S. power—while maintaining that it can be highly influential.

In 2009, President Obama defended his foreign policy by insisting, “I don’t even really need George Kennan right now.” But after North Korea’s latest long-range missile launch, coming on the heels of its fourth unimpeded nuclear test, U.S. foreign policy could use a shot in the arm from the famed diplomat.

Kennan once observed, “The life of an international community can always be inclined to some extent, like a tree, by persistent pressure in a single direction over a long space of time." Over the past quarter century, U.S. policy has failed to adequately prune Pyongyang’s decision trees. The result is not a bonsai, but an overgrown weed that threatens to choke its neighbors.

In his final State of the Union address, President Obama rightly noted that the world still looks to Washington, not Beijing or Moscow, for international leadership. So when North Korea stirs up international trouble, it makes little sense for Washington to continue to turn to Beijing for solutions. It would be much better for Washington to fix its own inadequate policies towards North Korea, thereby shaping both Pyongyang’s and Beijing’s strategic landscape in ways that align with its own.