event

Is U.S. Missile Defense Aimed at China?

Thu. October 15th, 2015
Washington, DC

The United States has been pressing South Korea to accept a very powerful radar that is allegedly intended for South Korea’s defense against North Korean ballistic missiles. However, North Korea is likely years away from building an intercontinental ballistic missile, and the radar is much more powerful than necessary for such a purpose. Is U.S. missile defense policy actually intended to defend against threats from China, rather than North Korea?

Carnegie hosted Theodore A. Postol to explain his research findings in answer to this question, joined by Tong Zhao as a discussant. Carnegie’s Toby Dalton moderated. 

Theodore A. Postol

Theodore A. Postol is a professor emeritus of science, technology, and national security policy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Tong Zhao

Tong Zhao is an associate in Carnegie’s Nuclear Policy Program based at the Carnegie–Tsinghua Center for Global Policy in Beijing.

Toby Dalton

Toby Dalton is the co-director of the Nuclear Policy Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. 

Foreign PolicyNuclear PolicyNorth AmericaUnited StatesEast AsiaSouth KoreaChinaNorth Korea
Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.
event speakers

Theodore Postol

Tong Zhao

Senior Fellow, Carnegie China, Nuclear Policy Program

Tong Zhao is a senior fellow with the Nuclear Policy Program and Carnegie China, Carnegie’s East Asia-based research center on contemporary China. Formerly based in Beijing, he now conducts research in Washington on strategic security issues.

Toby Dalton

Senior Fellow and Co-director, Nuclear Policy Program

Toby Dalton is a senior fellow and co-director of the Nuclear Policy Program at the Carnegie Endowment. An expert on nonproliferation and nuclear energy, his work addresses regional security challenges and the evolution of the global nuclear order.