Mongolia’s role in security on the Korean Peninsula

• The North Korean nuclear crisis is becoming increasingly tense
• Mongolia has good relations with both Pyongyang and the West
• For now, the sides remain too far apart to consider negotiations
• Mongolia can offer its experience as a nuclear-free state

The crisis on the Korean Peninsula is coming dangerously close to a confrontation. North Korea tested its first nuclear-capable intercontinental missile (ICBM) on July 4, 2017, and has conducted several other tests since then, including possibly detonating a thermonuclear bomb. Along with the many risks to regional and global security, tens of thousands of Mongolians living in South Korea may be in harm’s way if conflict breaks out.

With a direct interest in stability on the Korean peninsula, the Mongolian government has consistently favored denuclearization and a peaceful resolution, ideally achieved through the six-party talks between North Korea, South Korea, the United States, China, Japan and Russia.