NOV. 29th, 2017, KANE HALL WALKER-AMES ROOM, UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON
The 4th Annual Korean Peninsula Forum, hosted by the UW Center for Korea Studies, featured special guest Adam Mount, a Senior Fellow at the Federation of American Scientists, whose work covers U.S. nuclear strategy and force structure, global nuclear politics, deterrence, and North Korea. Previously, he was a Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress and a Stanton Nuclear Security Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). He received his B.A. from Reed College and his M.A. and Ph.D. from the Department of Government at Georgetown University. Dr. Mount has testified before the House Armed Services subcommittee on strategic forces. In 2015-16, he directed the CFR Independent Task Force on U.S. Policy Toward North Korea, a group of seventeen experts chaired by Adm. Mike Mullen and Sen. Sam Nunn. Their report, A Sharper Choice on North Korea: Engaging China for a Stable Northeast Asia issued ten findings and six recommendations for the next president’s policy toward the regime. He is also a columnist at the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists and his writing has been published in Foreign Affairs and The Atlantic.
Opening remarks from Kyongsig Park, the Acting Consul General of the Republic of Korea in Seattle
Dr. Mount, alongside Senior Jackson School Faculty, shared his thoughts on the North Korea situation, which has emerged as a top international priority for the Trump administration. Over the last ten months tensions on the Peninsula have risen to alarming heights, as the regime in Pyongyang makes rapid advancements in its nuclear and missile programs. Kim Jong Un has threatened to conduct destabilizing launches near US territory and Guam in addition to the first atmospheric nuclear test since 1980. At the same time, North Korea has resisted economic and military pressure designed to coerce them to denuclearize and is refusing to negotiate the issue. Preventing these destabilizing actions and avoiding war will require a new dedication to the hard work of containing, deterring, and negotiating with an increasingly capable regime over the long run.
Audience during the Q&A Session