Kamala Harris: What Will She Do on North Korea If She Wins?

For over a century, American foreign policy has been spearheaded by the fear of the Red Menace, “those commies” if you will. It was too collectivist, too alien to the American ideals of self-determination and drive which propelled us to world hegemony by, seemingly, sheer force of will and grit. The people who suffer under this barbaric system are only prisoners of their corrupt leaders and deserve to enjoy the rights and liberties that the American-led rules-based order can offer.

This hands-on strategy of interaction with foreign nations, especially those with governments that do not adhere to our order, is exactly why we see a rising hegemon in China, it is fiery and divisive. The previous two presidential administrations exemplified this perfectly, as Trump led historic U.S. North Korean engagements such as meeting Kim Jong-un at Panmunjom and the contentious Hanoi summit while Biden led an approach of inoffensive indifference.

Now, as America rapidly approaches November 2024, the possible Harris Administration has dropped piecemeal hints as to their strategic approach to the Hermit Kingdom: one that is not revolutionary, but maybe it doesn’t have to be.

They Get to Keep the Nukes?

One of the most surprising developments in the new Democrat’s platform has been the noticeable absence of the Complete, Verifiable, and Irreversible Denuclearization (CVID) from the Democratic Party Platform. This has worried members of Korea’s conservatives, the People Power Party (PPP), as their core North Korean policy revolves around denuclearization as a necessary prerequisite for the ultimate goal of reunification. Kim Yung-ho, the Minister of Unification, reestablished this point by stating the current conservative presidential administration under Yoon Suk-yeol would never seek a declaration to the end of the Korean War, as conditions such as denuclearization must be met.

The Harris Administration was quick to elaborate that denuclearization would still be a main priority, as Colin Kahl, former Undersecretary of Defense for Policy clarified while the Democratic National Convention (DNC) was underway. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Korea did not take any chances following the omission of CVID from the Democratic Platform, stating, “Regardless of the election outcome, we will continue to maintain close communication and cooperation with the United States regarding policies toward North Korea and its nuclear issues."

Following the Breadcrumbs on Kamala Harris and North Korea 

Admittedly, both presidential candidates gunning to win in 2024 have North Korean policy low on their list of importance. The candidates are much more enraptured by one-upping each other on matters of economy, education, and domestic governance; in the bluntest terms, the average American just doesn’t have reason enough to care about the Hermit Kingdom aside from the biannual missile threat here and there.

However, the Harris administration may have a leg up on Trump, as his past statements early in his presidency lamenting the burden of a defense pact with South Korea in the event of an attack on the nation has given a small contingent of South Korean conservatives a moment of pause during the liberal Moon Jae-in Administration. Harris does not have this baggage and is able to start fresh after her vice presidency under Biden, which welcomed Yoon to the U.S. early in 2023.

Further, little commentary from Yoon has surfaced since Biden dropped out of the presidential race on July 21, 2024. Despite surmounting calls for President Yoon to address Biden stepping down, the presidential office opted to publish the safe response of, “We will not comment on the domestic political situations of other countries.”

Given Harris’s recent comments at the DNC, calling Kim Jong-un a “tyrant and dictator”, we may encounter a truly baffling presidential situation: an American Democratic president more aggressive towards an American adversarial state than her Republican counterpart, and finding common ground with a foreign conservative.

About the Author: Lake Dobson 

Lake Dodson is the associate editor of The National Interest. His studies revolve around Korean-American relations, nuclear energy/weapons policy, and the Korean language. He has published articles on foreign relations for the Realist Review, the Commandant Military Journal of the University of Toronto, Threo Defense Journal, and the National Interest. 

Image Credit: Creative Commons.