This study examines the South Korea President Park Geun-hye and United States President Obama respective administration's policy vis-à-vis North Korea. The scope is narrowed down to the year 2013, during which the regime in Pyongyang conducted its third nuclear test. How to perceive and engage the regime in Pyongyang have been debated in the post-cold war era, divided into progressive (doves) and hard liners (hawks). Periods of policy discrepancy have occurred between Washington and Seoul, that have been observed to bear effect on North Korean behavior vis-à-vis South Korea. This study ties on to the contemporary policy debate in Seoul and Washington on North Korean engagement strategies. Moreover, expanding the scope and examines the respective administration's policy through a analytical framework based on a content analysis from a system level perspective. Furthermore, how neo-realism, neo-liberalism and the concept of reciprocity can shed light upon respective policies and give a sense of notion of alignment or discrepancy between Seoul and Washington.