The next U.S. president faces a looming crisis on the Korean Peninsula. North Korean actions in recent years have darkened the strategic landscape. Pyongyang has conducted missile tests in record numbers, declared that South Korea is its “principal enemy,” and concluded a new comprehensive strategic partnership with Russia. Seoul, for its part, has sought to strengthen its deterrence posture and align more closely with the United States and Japan.
What should the United States do now? Given that neither diplomatic inducements nor crippling sanctions have succeeded in halting North Korea’s nuclear buildup or influencing its political orientation, what policy options does Washington have left? How should the United States pursue denuclearization—or should it find another framework? How should Washington answer persistent South Korean doubts about U.S. extended nuclear deterrence and even the U.S. commitment to the alliance? And are there realistic ways to limit or reverse Russian–North Korean cooperation?
This discussion, hosted by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, features Stephen Wertheim, senior fellow in the American Statecraft Program, to discuss U.S. strategic alternatives toward North Korea in an in-person edition of the Pivotal States series. He will be joined by Victor Cha, senior vice president for Asia and Korea Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and former director for Asian Affairs on the U.S. National Security Council; Ankit Panda, Stanton senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace; and Jenny Town, senior fellow and director of the Korea Program and 38 North at the Stimson Center. The event will be held in person and also streamed live on YouTube.