PUBLICATIONS
April 18, 2013
"Dealing with North Korea—What Comes Next?"
Diplomat
By Terence Roehrig, Research Fellow, International Security Program/Project on Managing the Atom
"A military strike against North Korean nuclear facilities would be very dangerous, possibly setting off a chain of events that could wreck the peninsula. South Korea has made absolutely clear that it will retaliate if North Korea initiates some type of provocation but a direct military strike to eliminate its nuclear program is unlikely. Finally, despite some indications of unhappiness with Pyongyang's actions, there are limits to what China is willing to do to exert pressure on North Korea."
March 25, 2013
"North Korea Stirs Cuban Crisis Memory"
Asia Times
By Hui Zhang, Senior Research Associate, Project on Managing the Atom
"President Barack Obama and Kim Jong-eun could end up confronting each other 'eyeball to eyeball', each with nuclear weapons on hair trigger, as president John F Kennedy and Nikita Khruschev did over five decades ago during the Cuban missile crisis in 1962. However, the younger and less-experienced Kim of the smaller and isolated Kingdom might not behave as rationally as Khruschev."
February 11, 2013
"The Information Revolution Gets Political"
The Australian
By Joseph S. Nye, Harvard University Distinguished Service Professor
"Beneath the Arab political revolutions lies a deeper and longer process of radical change that is sometimes called the information revolution. We cannot yet fully grasp its implications, but it is fundamentally transforming the nature of power in the twenty-first century, in which all states exist in an environment that even the most powerful authorities cannot control as they did in the past."
AP Photo
January 2013
"Deciphering North Korea's New Year's Address: The Real Road Ahead"
By John S. Park, Associate, Project on Managing the Atom
Kim Jong-eun's New Year's Day address signaled a willingness to ease tensions with South Korea and focus on economic development, but how credible is this message? Project on Managing the Atom Associate and MIT Stanton Nuclear Security Junior Faculty Fellow John Park analyzes the address in an HKS PolicyCast.
December 2012
"The Roles and Influence of the North Korean Military"
By Terence Roehrig, Research Fellow, International Security Program/Project on Managing the Atom
The armed forces have always played a vital role for states as their guarantor of national security. In addition, the military has often been a political actor with varying degrees of power and influence over budgets, foreign and defense policy, or a full-blown military dictatorship. Some are also significant players in the state economy. This chapter provides an assessment of the North Korean military's role and influence in all three areas — security, politics, and economics — as the country undergoes its second leadership transition to its young leader, Kim Jong-un.
December 2012
North Korea in Transition: Politics, Economy, and Society
By Kyung-Ae Park and Scott Snyder
Following the death of Kim Jong Il, North Korea has entered a period of profound transformation laden with uncertainty. This authoritative book brings together the world's leading North Korea experts to analyze both the challenges and prospects the country is facing. Drawing on the contributors' expertise across a range of disciplines, the book examines North Korea's political, economic, social, and foreign policy concerns.
October 2012
Global Korea: South Korea's Contributions to International Security
By Scott Bruce, John Hemmings, Balbina Y. Hwang, Terence Roehrig, Research Fellow, International Security Program/Project on Managing the Atom and Scott Snyder
Given the seriousness of the ongoing standoff on the Korean peninsula, South Korea's emergence as an active contributor to international security addressing challenges far from the Korean peninsula is a striking new development, marking South Korea's emergence as a producer rather than a consumer of global security resources. This volume outlines South Korea's progress and accomplishments toward enhancing its role and reputation as a contributor to international security.
Summer 2012
Insight and Analysis: Iran
Belfer Center Newsletter
A small sampling of Belfer Center perspectives on Iran and the country's nuclear program.
AP Photo
April 1, 2012
"Northeast Asia's Nuclear Future"
The Fletcher Forum of World Affairs
By James Platte, Former Stanton Nuclear Security Predoctoral Fellow, 2011–2012
"The negative impact of Fukushima and North Korea's dangerous nuclear politicking stand in stark contrast to the promise of growing nuclear sectors in China and South Korea. While preventing nuclear terrorism and strengthening nuclear security globally are urgent issues, how the nuclear dynamics of Northeast Asia plays out in the coming years will be more critical for the future of the global nuclear industry."
AP Photo
December 19, 2011
"The Fog of the Post–Kim Jong-il Period"
By John S. Park, Associate, Project on Managing the Atom
John Park, a senior program officer who directs USIP's Korea Working Group, analyzes the key policy issues arising from the sudden death of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il on December 17.
