Nuclear weapons law and Korean's conundrum

War is fundamentally a political struggle carried out through alternative means, with international law serving as the framework that delineates the boundaries imposed by the major powers on the utilization of unconventional methods by states vying for political objectives in an unending, ruthless contest. This principle is most evident on the Korean Peninsula, where a cease-fire agreement from 1953 has not formally concluded hostilities, and where the military forces and treaty obligations of four nuclear-armed nations— the United States, China, Russia, and North Korea— overlap.

In the contemporary context, the term "other means" predominantly pertains to nuclear weapons, the most potent form of coercive force owing to their unparalleled capacity to inflict annihilation and wield an existential threat against adversaries. In the Korean context, the competing nations articulate their deterrence strategies using these exact descriptors.

North Korea's 2022 law governing its nuclear forces policy asserts that the primary objective of its nuclear arsenal is to instill fear in potential aggressors, warning that any military confrontation with the North will lead to "ruin." Simultaneously, the United States' 2022 Nuclear Posture Review outlines its own nuclear strategy, emphasizing the importance of a credible deterrent against North Korean aggression.