International Business Essay: US-North Korea Conflict Analysis

This essay delves into the complex international business landscape shaped by the escalating tensions between the United States and North Korea. It examines the ineffectiveness of US trade sanctions against North Korea, highlighting the involvement of countries like China and Russia, and the potential negative impacts on the global economy and multinational companies. The essay explores the reasons behind the failure of these sanctions, considering the interconnectedness of global trade and the potential for retaliatory measures from North Korea. It also analyzes the implications of a potential nuclear conflict on international business and offers recommendations for alternative strategies, such as diplomatic efforts and innovative defensive measures, to resolve the conflict and mitigate its impact on the global market. The essay concludes by emphasizing the need for a global consensus and a shift towards diplomatic solutions to prevent further escalation.

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Introduction
The current global political scenario is much tense and challenging than it was a decade
ago. Various issues are being emerging on a daily basis between different countries. One of the
major issues or tussles is going on between the United States and North Korea regarding the
development of nuclear weapons by North Korea. However, in the current era of globalization
and interdependence of the countries between one another, the issues between the two countries
are enlarged to being an issue between several countries. In the case of the United States and
North Korea, various other countries such as Britain, Japan, South Korea, China and Russia are
also got involved in this issue (Chanlett-Avery and Rinehart 2013). However though united
States under the Presidency of Donald Trump have initiated various aggressive measures to
counter North Korea but it is questionable about the effectiveness of the measures. This essay
will discuss about the effectiveness of the measures being taken by United States in the current
political scenario. In addition, various other related aspects, which can be generated from this
issue, will also be discussed in this essay.
Preventing other countries in doing trade with North Korea
In order to counter the nuclear development program of North Korea, United States came
up with the idea that they will cease the trade with those countries, which are having trading
policies with North Korea. However, this idea of United States may not derive the desired
outcome due to the reason that, countries such as China, Russia and Brazil are having trade
agreements with North Korea. Thus, it will be difficult for United States to cease their trade with
countries such as China. This is due to the reason that a major portion of imports in
manufacturing and outsourced jobs is being sourced from China. Thus, in view to counter North

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Korea, this idea may prove a boomerang for United States. The international business involving
the American firms will be negatively affected, which will in turn the economy of United States.
This, this idea of prevention of trade with other countries cannot be termed as good idea.
Reasons for ineffectiveness of the discussed idea
There are various reasons, which will prove that the idea being initiated by United States
will be ineffective and it will not work. As stated by Vaswani (2017), all the major countries
including India, Pakistan, China, France and Germany are indulged in trade with North Korea.
Thus, it will be difficult for the United States to cease the trading with these major economies.
Moreover, according to the author, these countries are having more trading market with United
States compared to the North Korea. Thus, ceasing the trade with these countries will hurt United
States more compared to North Korea. Moreover, the Chinese factor will also be a key
determining factor in proving that ceasing the trading with major economies will be disaster for
United States. This is due to the reason that, China is the trading partner of North Korea with
accounting of more than 90 percent trade. On the other hand, China is also the largest trading
partner of United States also. Moreover, a million American jobs are being depended on the
trading with China. Thus, ceasing the trade with China will have negative impact on the
economy of United States.
Outcome of banning trade with North Korea
The sanctions initiated by United States on preventing the trading and other relationship
with North Korea along with other countries also following the same will have negative
implications for North Korea as well as for other stakeholders also. This is due to the reason that,
as earlier discussed, various major economies in the world are having their trade relationship

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with North Korea. Thus, ceasing the trading relationship with North Korea will have negative
impact on the international business of these countries. This is due to the reason that, North
Korea is having abundance of iron ore and zinc, which they export to other countries. Thus,
countries ceasing trading relationship with them will be deprived from having these minerals. On
the other hand, it will also have negative implications for the economy of North Korea. This is
due to the reason that, a major portion of their domestic requirements is being met from the
international business. Moreover, their 90 percent requirement is being met from China. Thus,
sanctioning trading relationship will be disaster for them.
However, countries especially the United States should consider other effective means
due to the reason that, sanctioning of trading relationship with North Korea may also attract
disaster for them as well for the whole world. According to ABC News (2017), North Korea has
already threatened that imposing stricter sanctions will force them to use their military might.
Thus, according to the article, North Korea is already having various deadly weapons, which will
cause mass destruction in case of detonating. Moreover, Using of military may lead to the
starting of world war involving various countries.
Implications on the multinational companies
Multinational companies belonging from different countries are having their operational
facilities in different countries across the world. Thus, any types of political issues in the global
scenario will have negative implications on their business potentiality. Moreover, the issue
emerged between United States and North Korea will have more implications on their business
potentiality due to the reason that, the issue has been escalated to the large scale along with
involvement of various other countries. Various organizations are there who have their trading

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relationship with American partners along with North Korean partners. Thus, these organizations
have to stop their trading with either of these countries. Thus, the business and market
potentiality will also get reduced for them.
On the other hand, fear of having nuclear war between the two countries along with
involving various other countries in the war has already adversely affected the world economy.
The global stock market are showing negative trend in the recent years due to this reason
(Ungarino 2017). As earlier discussed, initiation of nuclear war will lead to mass destruction and
with the involvement of various countries, it will be a disaster for the whole world. In that case,
the global market for the multinationals will be badly affected. Due to this issue, more countries
are coming up with stringent regulations regarding the international business, which will create
more obstacles for the multinational organizations in operating in the global scenario.
Recommended steps to deal with North Korea
Without being unnecessary escalating the situation with North Korea, various other
measures can be initiated by the regulatory bodies of United States in handling the issues with
North Korea effectively. One of the key measures will be to persuade the allies of North Korea
such as China and Russia about the threat being possessed by North Korea. They should be well
communicated about the fact that, the nuclear development of North Korea will also not only
prove threat for United States but also for other countries also. This measure will be more fruitful
due to the reason that, sanctioning of trade relationship from the close allies of North Korea will
force them to adhere with the regulations of United Nations.
In addition, in the case of innovating new weapons to counter North Korea, out of the box
thinking should be initiated. This is due to the reason that, rather deploying traditional and

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nuclear weapons to counter North Korea, a more defensive measure will be more beneficial due
to the fact that in case of war, both the country will lose their resources significantly but, the
economy of United States will be more affected compared to North Korea (Washington Post
2017). Due to this reason, North Korea is showing more aggressiveness as they have nothing to
lose. Thus, out of box thinking such as deploying of drones, which can shoot down the incoming
missiles from North Korea will made them frustrated. This will make the aggressiveness of
North Korea ineffective and blunt.
The key responsibility of the United States is to enhance their diplomatic channels in
order to create a global consensus against North Korea rather than just bomb casting against
them. It is the responsibility of the American diplomats to convince the major economies around
the world about the potential threat of North Korea. They should portray North Korea as a global
threat rather than just the threat to United States.
Conclusion
Thus, from the above discussion of the issues between the United States and North
Korea, it can be concluded that the issue between these two countries is being rapidly escalating
and transforming in to a global issue. Thus, there is an urgent need to counter and prevent the
escalation of this issue. Moreover, in this essay, it is being discussed that, various other countries
are getting involved in this issue, which is further enlarging the issue. The implications for the
global scenario as well as for the multinational organizations from the escalation of this issue are
also being discussed in this essay. Accordingly, ranges of recommended steps are being
discussed in this essay, which can be initiated in effective resolution of the conflict.

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Reference
ABC News. (2017). How will the new UN sanctions impact on North Korea?. [online] Available
at: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-09-12/how-will-new-un-sanctions-impact-north-korea/
8895844 [Accessed 10 Oct. 2017].
Chanlett-Avery, E. and Rinehart, I.E., 2013. North Korea: US relations, nuclear diplomacy, and
internal situation. Current Politics and Economics of Northern and Western Asia, 22(3), p.341.
Ungarino, R. (2017). Why the North Korea threat could still take down stocks. [online] CNBC.
Available at: https://www.cnbc.com/2017/09/06/why-the-north-korea-threat-could-still-take-
down-stocks.html [Accessed 10 Oct. 2017].
Vaswani, K. (2017). What if Trump cut ties with North Korea's trade partners?. [online] BBC
News. Available at: http://www.bbc.com/news/business-41144687 [Accessed 10 Oct. 2017].
Washington Post. (2017). Opinion | Some creative ways to deal with North Korea. [online]
Available at: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/some-creative-ways-to-deal-with-north-
korea/2017/09/21/239585dc-9f0c-11e7-9c8d-cf053ff30921_story.html?
utm_term=.8df6b0a3e8b6 [Accessed 10 Oct. 2017].