How Viable Are Nuclear Weapons Free Zones?

Session: Grand Ballroom 1
Date/Time: February 20, 2013 / 14:00-15:15

Moderator: William Potter, James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies

Speakers:

Emiliano Buis, Non-proliferation for Global Security Foundation
Chun Chaesung, Seoul National University
Peter Hayes, Nautilus Institute, RMIT University
Ta Minh Tuan, Office of the Government, Vietnam

Rapporteur: Kristine Bergstrom, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Press Release Brief

1. William Potter noted that a strong case can be made that Nuclear Weapons Free Zones are among the arms control initiatives that have shown success and promise.

2. Emiliano Buis said that, “As a lawyer I am the least inclined on this panel to believe in the success of disarmament by legal measures. I do not see Nuclear Weapons Free Zones as an end, but as a means to and end; progressive and global disarmament.”

3. Chun Chaesung noted that only if North Korea agrees to go back to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty can the outside world, including the United States, provide security assurances to North Korea.

4. Peter Hayes remarked that a Nuclear Weapons Free Zone in North East Asia is viable, badly needed, and necessary to solve the nuclear issues of this region, but at the same time it is not sufficient to bring about an end to the nuclear threat.