Compromise and diplomacy, not military might, has the greatest potential to bring peace to the Korean Peninsula. From accepting North Korea as a nuclear state, to China offering nuclear protection in exchange for the North denuclearizing, there are creative ways open to world leaders to diffuse tensions in the region.
According to some estimates, North Korea has far greater military might than its neighbors to the south. The Institute for Strategic Studies asserts that this advantage is especially pronounced in active duty troops (1.19 million versus 655,000) and artillery pieces (21,100 versus 11,000). This significant military muscle is positioned a stone's throw from Seoul. At a moment's notice, or in case of a surgical strike on the leadership of North Korea, this conventional force could be unleashed on South Korea's capital and neighboring areas, destroying one of the linchpins in East Asia's economy and having collateral effects on neighboring economies through the global production chain.
Simply, the North poses an existential threat to South Korea but also is a potential major destabilizing force in the region and global economy.
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