Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
North Korea’s evolving nuclear arsenal presents a complex security challenge. What can states and international organizations do to reduce immediate nuclear risks while planning for a longer term disarmament process?
The stage is set for a potentially disruptive period in South Korea–U.S. security relations. If tensions are allowed to build, the alliance could rupture.
Revisions to the U.S.–South Korea missile guidelines open a new era in Seoul’s space ambitions, but their consequences for regional security are limited.
What model for nuclear disarmament might a nuclear-armed state demand of its adversaries and accept for itself? If states were to commit to dismantle their nuclear arsenals, what would be the key benchmarks for assessing the progressive implementation of such a commitment?
Resolving security issues on the Korean peninsula will require diminishing the role of deterrence in inter-Korean affairs. Cooperative security is a useful concept to guide this shift.
In holding out for the big deal, unfortunately, the Trump administration—like its predecessors—sacrificed a more immediate and necessary operational objective: stopping North Korean progress toward a larger and more menacing nuclear arsenal that could reliably target the mainland United States.
Japan and South Korea have long been identified as likely cases of future nuclear weapon proliferation. Why have leaders of both states eschewed the pursuit of nuclear weapons?
There is a vast gap between the United States and North Korea’s expectations and visions for the denuclearization negotiations. Artful compromise is needed to avoid an acrimonious break up.
Implementing an agreement on the denuclearization of North Korea will require a creatively designed verification scheme. The probabilistic approach to verification could be a solution to the need to design a credible, implementable agreement to which the United States and North Korea could agree.
Nuclear negotiations with North Korea are at an impasse, but there are pragmatic ways the United States can seek to regain diplomatic momentum.
The United Nations North Korea Panel of Experts report released in March confirms that North Korea continues to evade U.N. sanctions. The implementation of financial sanctions remains one of the main challenges for governments and financial institutions around the world.