United States Diplomacy with North Korea and Vietnam

"Nuclear war haunts the world today because the United States has refused to negotiate a peace agreement with North Korea for more than six decades. Yet the United States is on friendly terms today with Vietnam, a former enemy. The book answers why, finding that Washington's diplomacy with both countries explains such a dramatic difference. Among four theories posed, power politics and presidential politics are refuted as explanations. Mass society theory, which focuses on civil society, finds that negotiations regarding American soldiers missing in action paved the way for success with Vietnam but not with North Korea. But diplomacy theory--tracing moves and countermoves during diplomatic interactions--reveals the real source of the problem: The United States provided reciprocated unilateral positive gestures to Vietnam while repeatedly double crossing North Korea. Although Pyongyang repeatedly offered to give up nuclear developments, Washington offered no alternative to Pyongyang but to develop a nuclear deterrent to safeguard the country against a devious and hostile United States. The book, in short, serves as a serious corrective to false narratives and options being dissemina