Reassessing North Korea’s Nuclear Threat After the 3rd Nuclear Test

Session: Regency Room
Date/Time: February 19, 2013 / 12:30-13:45

Moderator: Joshua Pollack, Science Applications International Corporation

Speakers:

Kim Yongho, Yonsei University
Markus Schiller, Schmucker Technologie
Joel Wit, U.S.-Korea Institute at SAIS

Rapporteur: Kristine Bergström, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Press Release Brief

1. Kim Yongho, Professor at Yonsei University, stated that, “We have to convince the leadership that they have something to lose. We could do this by sending the message that Kim Jong-un will face the same fate as Osama Bin Laden.”

2. Marcus Schiller, senior analyst at the Schmucker Technologie, noted that the launch was more a political signal, both foreign and domestic. It aimed to show what a prosperous nation North Korea is, but it is not a direct threat at the moment.

3. Joshua Pollack, Senior Analyst at the Science Applications International Corporation, said that North Korea pursues a “stepping stone approach” to its nuclear program. In attempting to achieve technical development, they are not building a bridge, but are trying to skip from one small stone to the next with very few resources.

4. Joel Wit, Senior Research Scholar at the US-Korea Institute of the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, noted that the United States needs to seriously think about its policy and reexamine the current approach of “weak sanctions and weak diplomacy.”