Security Spillover: Regional Implications of Evolving Deterrence on the Korean Peninsula
Toby Dalton, Narushige Michishita, and Tong Zhao
Regardless of the prospects of denuclearizing North Korea, the United States and South Korea are likely to continue strengthening capabilities to deter North Korean coercive behavior. Yet, as they do this, it will become increasingly important to assess the regional implications of their actions. Their efforts have already had, and will continue to have, broad spillover effects, potentially creating new tensions with China and complicating alliance relations with Japan.
What Is a Big Enough Win on the Korean Peninsula?
George Perkovich
Senate Democratic leaders on Monday tried to set unrealistically high expectations for a nuclear agreement to be negotiated by President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Posing perfect outcomes will impede efforts to persuade North Korean leaders that the Congress will provide the cooperation necessary to fulfill the terms of an agreement that actually can be negotiated in the real world.
Denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula: Reviewing the Precedents
Joshua Pollack | Arms Control Wonk
There’s now more than a quarter-century’s worth of statements by North Korea and various other parties that have addressed Pyongyang’s nuclear ambitions in one way or another. Taken together, they offer a yardstick for Singapore.
U.S. Forces Korea Says It Received No Guidance Related to Trump’s Plan to Stop ‘War Games’
Song Sang-ho | Yonhap
The U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) said Tuesday that it had received “no updated guidance” yet related to the regular exercises with South Korea that President Donald Trump said he will stop. Following his summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, Trump said at a press conference that he will stop “war games” with the South, calling them “provocative and expensive.”
U.S. Demands Japan Reduce Its Plutonium Stockpiles
Nikkei Asian Review
The U.S. has called on Japan to reduce its high levels of stockpiled plutonium, a move that comes as the Trump administration seeks to convince North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons, Nikkei has learned. The request was made by the U.S. Department of State and National Security Council ahead of next month’s extension of a bilateral nuclear cooperation agreement, according to people familiar with the matter.
Why the Pentagon Fears the U.S. Is Losing the Hypersonic Arms Race With Russia and China
Christian Davenport | Washington Post
China and Russia are surpassing the United States in acquiring a technology the Pentagon has tried and failed to develop for years: a maneuverable missile that could fly many times the speed of sound and strike anywhere in the world within an hour or two, senior military officials say. The prospect of losing this arms race has quietly made the development of the hypersonic missile a top priority at the Pentagon, the officials said, as the United States faces rising challenges from superpowers around the world.