nuclear weapons

Asia After Trump: Competitive Coexistence in the Biden Era

The new Biden administration will have to address myriad challenges, from the COVID-19 pandemic to affordable health care to climate change. While his immediate focus is on domestic issues, Biden will eventually need to turn his attention to the Asia-Pacific, a region of geostrategic importance to Washington. The security environment has changed significantly since Biden […]

A New START for Arms Control

The New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START)—a bilateral agreement that constrains the US and Russia’s nuclear arsenals—expires in February. Despite bipartisan support for an extension, President Trump has been adamant that the US will not accept Russia’s unconditional offer for a five-year continuance.  The administration is choosing instability over stability. Ambassador Marshall Billingslea, the […]

Denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula is Still a Distant Dream

Motivational speaker Simon Sinek once said, “Dream big. Start small. But most of all, start.” Washington’s North Korea policy doesn’t follow this adage, instead negotiating for total denuclearization instead of small victories. Complete, Verifiable, Irreversible Denuclearization can be the goal. The idea isn’t new; however, as President Clinton’s chief negotiator with North Korea Robert Gallucci […]

Re-Examining Japan’s North Korea Strategy—What Can Be Done?

On October 3, North Korea launched a missile into the Sea of Japan. It was the eleventh missile test this year, and the first one launched from a submarine. Japan claimed that the missile landed in its exclusive economic zone—an area two hundred nautical miles around the island.  In response, Japan’s Self Defense Force (SDF) […]

The New Global Arms Race

International tensions between North Korea and the rest of the world hit a high point this September, when Chairman of North Korea Kim Jong Un sanctioned the launch of a mid-range nuclear missile that flew directly over northern Japan before landing in the Pacific Ocean. For the past several years, North Korean leadership has been […]