The Korean Security Paradox: North Korea’s Nuclear Threat vs the Complexity of Trilateral Cooperation Between China, South Korea, and Japan

Abstract

This study analyzes the security paradox in East Asia posed by the North Korean nuclear threat and the complexity of trilateral cooperation between China, South Korea, and Japan. This study uses a qualitative explanatory method with a descriptive-analytic approach, drawing on library research and secondary sources. The results show that the evolution of North Korea's nuclear doctrine has increased regional strategic uncertainty, driven military modernization across neighboring states, and deepened geopolitical polarization. Trilateral cooperation faces eight major obstacles: historical burdens, economic dependence, and differences in strategic perceptions, great power rivalry, security paradoxes, mutual distrust, institutional instability, and the trauma of multilateral diplomacy. This study concludes that common threats do not automatically generate collective solidarity, but rather produce fragmented responses shaped by each country's national interest calculations. The implications of this study provide academic contributions to understanding the dynamics of East Asian regional security, particularly the interaction between military threats and geopolitical interests in shaping complex patterns of cooperation.