This essay is a research on the negotiations surrounding the North Korean nuclearweapons development. With the aim of identifying core flaws in the negotiationapproach from the North Korean adversaries, I did a case study to acquire in-depthknowledge about the process. To evaluate the success of these approaches and thedifferent policies I applied the theories of realism and liberalism with their respectiveconcepts. Additionally I used aspects from negotiation analysis and theory to get abetter understanding of the process but also the reasons behind the different policies.Both approaches had its flaws and several problems with the negotiation process wereidentified. The findings in the study indicates that the approaches and policies based onliberal ideas that was focused on cooperation and engagement seems to have been moreeffective and successful than the approaches and policies based on realist concepts.