Program
Nuclear Policy
Korean Peninsula

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?

event
A New Missile Age in the Indo-Pacific
October 31, 2023

Nuclear and nonnuclear missile capabilities are quickly spreading the Indo-Pacific. What is driving this surge, and what are the consequences for possible nuclear escalation in future crises on the Korean Peninsula and in the Taiwan Strait? Join Carnegie for an event addressing this and more.

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Would the U.S. Sanction Allies Seeking the Bomb?

Almost all of the non-nuclear-weapon states that are friends of the United States participate fully in the international nuclear nonproliferation regime, which entails rigorous multilateral legal obligations.

  • Newell Highsmith
· April 20, 2023
In The Media
in the media
What a Comparison of U.S. and North Korean Nuclear Policies Reveals About Kim Jong Un’s Efforts to Balance Deterrence and Legitimacy

By choosing to emulate certain aspects of U.S. nuclear policy and diverge from others, North Korea is attempting to simultaneously demonstrate a willingness to escalate a conflict while projecting an image of a responsible nuclear possessor that should be accommodated as such in the international system.

· December 3, 2022
commentary
U.S. Policy Should Reflect Its Own Quiet Acceptance of a Nuclear North Korea

It wouldn’t be an altruistic giveaway to Pyongyang; it would help the United States and its Northeast Asian allies improve their own security.

· November 15, 2022
REQUIRED IMAGE
commentary
Thinking Nuclear: South Korean Attitudes on Nuclear Weapons

New public opinion data finds robust support for a domestic nuclear weapons program in South Korea.

· February 21, 2022
Chicago Council
In The Media
in the media
A Freeze for Freeze Redux on the Korean Peninsula

Diplomacy on the Korean Peninsula is stalled again. One option worth exploring is a trilateral cessation of missile testing and military exercises on the Korean Peninsula, essentially a “freeze for freeze” redux.

· September 24, 2021
commentary
Why North Korea’s New Cruise Missile Matters

North Korea’s newest cruise missile test shows its nuclear capabilities are growing. Here’s what policymakers from the United States and elsewhere should do now to set up future negotiators for success.

· September 13, 2021
commentary
New Approaches to Verifying and Monitoring North Korea’s Nuclear Arsenal

While hopes remain for a reboot of nuclear talks with North Korea, a crucial but oft-overlooked question is how compliance with any negotiated agreement would be monitored and verified.

commentary
The Most Urgent North Korean Nuclear Threat Isn’t What You Think

The most likely nuclear risk Pyongyang poses is spreading WMD technology in the Middle East.

· April 15, 2021
REQUIRED IMAGE
In the Media
Negotiating Nuclear Arms Control with North Korea: Why and How?

The consolidation of nuclear and missile capabilities by North Korea points to the need for a new strategy to mitigate the potential for conflict: to pursue progress toward peace and denuclearization simultaneously.

· March 1, 2021
Korean Journal of Defense Analysis
REQUIRED IMAGE
In the Media
The Biden Administration and a New Approach to Denuclearization?

It remains to be seen whether the Biden administration will change tack on North Korea policy and finally jettison “maximum pressure” approach in favor of a more practical attempt to work simultaneously toward peace and denuclearization.

· February 28, 2021
Rinsa Forum
REQUIRED IMAGE
In the Media
Nighttime in Pyongyang: Aesthetics and Deterrence Under Kim Jong Un

By focusing exclusively on the traditional hard power implications of North Korea’s missile systems, analysts are missing much of Pyongyang’s strategy.

· January 30, 2021
Diplomat