event

Pivotal States: No Choice but Crisis? The Next President’s Options for North Korea

Fri. September 20th, 2024
Washington, DC, In-Person & Online Event

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?

Please join 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 Markus Garlauskas, director of the Indo-Pacific Security Initiative at the Atlantic Council and former U.S. National Intelligence Officer for North Korea; Ankit Panda, Stanton senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace; and Jenny Town, senior fellow and director of the North Korea Program and 38 North at the Stimson Center. The event will be held in person and also stream live on YouTube.

Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.
event speakers

Markus Garlauskas

Director, Indo-Pacific Security Initiative, Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security, Atlantic Council

Markus Garlauskas is the director of the Indo-Pacific Security Initiative of the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security at the Atlantic Council. He served as the U.S. National Intelligence Officer for North Korea on the National Intelligence Council from 2014 to 2020.

Ankit Panda

Stanton Senior Fellow, Nuclear Policy Program

Ankit Panda is the Stanton Senior Fellow in the Nuclear Policy Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Jenny Town

Senior Fellow and Director, Korea Program and 38 North, Stimson Center

Jenny Town is a senior fellow and the director of the Korea Program and 38 North at the Stimson Center.

Stephen Wertheim

Senior Fellow, American Statecraft Program

Stephen Wertheim is a senior fellow in the American Statecraft Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.