event

Nuclear Risks in Northeast Asia

Tue. February 27th, 2018
Washington, DC

Nowhere are nuclear dangers growing more rapidly than in Northeast Asia. China’s rise and North Korea’s rapidly developing nuclear and missile programs have catalyzed a debate about whether the United States should rely more heavily on nuclear weapons in its efforts to protect the security of Japan and South Korea. Meanwhile, civilian nuclear energy programs risk the stockpiling of plutonium. South Korea and China are considering programs to extract plutonium from used nuclear fuel, as Japan wrestles with the realization that it is unable to make fresh fuel from the plutonium it has already extracted.

Carnegie held a discussion, hosted jointly with Nagasaki University, of the most urgent nuclear challenges facing international actors in this increasingly tense region.

Agenda

10:30 to 10:35 a.m.

Welcome

Susumu Shirabe, James Acton

10:35 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

Extended Deterrence in Northeast Asia

Rebecca Hersman, Jina Kim, Jon Wolfsthal, Fumihiko Yoshida, Toby Dalton

12:00 to 12:30 p.m.

Lunch

12:30 to 2:00 p.m.

Security Risks of Civilian Plutonium Use in Northeast Asia

Thomas Countryman, Sharon Squassoni, Victor Reis, Tatsu Suzuki, James M. Acton

Speakers

Susumu Shirabe

Susumu Shirabe is the executive adviser to the president at Nagasaki University.

Rebecca Hersman

Rebecca Hersman is the director of the Project on Nuclear Issues and a senior adviser to the International Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Jina Kim

Jina Kim is a research fellow at the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses. 

Jon Wolfsthal

Jon Wolfsthal is a nonresident scholar with the Nucelar Policy Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. 

Fumihiko Yoshida

Fumihiko Yoshida is editor-in chief of the Journal for Peace and Nuclear Disarmament and the vice director of the Research Center for Nuclear Weapons Abolition at Nagasaki University. He is also a nonresident scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. 

Toby Dalton

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

Thomas Countryman

Thomas Countryman is the former assistant secretary for international security and nonproliferation at the U.S. Department of State. 

Sharon Squassoni

Sharon Squassoni is a research professor of practice at the Institute for International Science and Technology Policy at the Elliot School of International Affairs at The George Washington University. 

Victor Reis

Victor Reis former assistant secretary for defense programs at the U.S. Department of Energy.

Tatsu Suzuki

Tatsu Suzuki is director of the Research Center for Nuclear Weapons Abolition at Nagasaki University.

James M. Acton

James M. Acton holds the Jessica T. Mathews Chair and is co-director of the Nuclear Policy Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. 

Nuclear PolicyArms ControlEast AsiaNorth 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

Rebecca Hersman

Jina Kim

Jina Kim is chief of the North Korean Military Division at the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses

Jon Wolfsthal

Nonresident Scholar, Nuclear Policy Program

Jon Wolfsthal was a nonresident scholar with the Nuclear Policy Program.

Fumihiko Yoshida

Nonresident Scholar, Nuclear Policy Program

Fumihiko Yoshida is a nonresident scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

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.

Thomas Countryman

Sharon Squassoni

Senior Associate, Nuclear Policy Program

Squassoni came to Carnegie from the Congressional Research Service. She also served for nine years in the executive branch. Her last position at the State Department was director of Policy Coordination in the Nonproliferation Bureau.

Victor Reis

Tatsu Suzuki

James M. Acton

Jessica T. Mathews Chair, Co-director, Nuclear Policy Program

Acton holds the Jessica T. Mathews Chair and is co-director of the Nuclear Policy Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.