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{
  "authors": [
    "George Perkovich"
  ],
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  "centerAffiliationAll": "dc",
  "centers": [
    "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
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    "Korean Peninsula"
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  "primaryCenter": "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
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Source: Getty

In The Media

North Korea’s Nuclear Weapons Program

As North Korea develops an array of missiles that could deliver a nuclear weapon to the continental United States, that further complicates the tension over defending U.S. allies in the region.

Link Copied
By George Perkovich
Published on Apr 11, 2017
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Nuclear Policy

The Nuclear Policy Program aims to reduce the risk of nuclear war. Our experts diagnose acute risks stemming from technical and geopolitical developments, generate pragmatic solutions, and use our global network to advance risk-reduction policies. Our work covers deterrence, disarmament, arms control, nonproliferation, and nuclear energy.

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Source: Council on Foreign Relations

Carnegie’s George Perkovich spoke on the President’s Inbox with the Council on Foreign Relations’ James M. Lindsay and Robert McMahon about President Donald J. Trump’s options on North Korea’s nuclear weapons program. Perkovich explained how treaties obligate the United States to come to the aid of South Korea and Japan if North Korea should act aggressively toward them. However, he added, as North Korea develops an array of missiles that could deliver a nuclear weapon to the continental United States, that further complicates the tension over defending U.S. allies in the region. Perkovich discussed the nature of sanctions, adding that there is no evidence that tighter sanctions would make the Kim family give up their nuclear weapons.

This interview was originally broadcast by the Council on Foreign Relations.

About the Author

George Perkovich

Japan Chair for a World Without Nuclear Weapons, Senior Fellow

George Perkovich is the Japan Chair for a World Without Nuclear Weapons and a senior fellow in the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace’s Nuclear Policy Program. He works primarily on nuclear deterrence, nonproliferation, and disarmament issues, and is leading a study on nuclear signaling in the 21st century.

    Recent Work

  • Paper
    How to Assess Nuclear ‘Threats’ in the Twenty-First Century

      George Perkovich

  • Commentary
    “A House of Dynamite” Shows Why No Leader Should Have a Nuclear Trigger

      George Perkovich

George Perkovich
Japan Chair for a World Without Nuclear Weapons, Senior Fellow
George Perkovich
Nuclear PolicyArms ControlSecurityEast 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.

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