A Korea-Japan Nuclear Weapon Free Zone has implications for the US assurance of extended nuclear deterrence to Japan and Korea. At the very least a nuclear weapon free zone would require the United States to commit to not firing nuclear weapons out of the NWFZ. A nuclear weapon free zone in North-East Asia could shift the focus of US deterrence away from nuclear weapons and towards the reliance on the conventional forces already deployed in the region.
Supporting Materials: North Korea
DPRK newspaper accuses U.S. of providing nuclear umbrella to S Korea
China View, 22 June 2009
North Korea’s Nuclear Weapons Program
Congressional Research Service, 2003.
Confronting Ambiguity in North Korea’s Nuclear Program
Phillip Saunders, Arms Control Today, 2003.
Analysis of DPRK Strategic Intentions ( Nautilus Conference Presentation )
John Steinbruner, School of Public Affairs at U. of Maryland, 2003.
CIA Estimate of North Korean Nuclear Capability
Prepared for Congress, 2002.
DPRK Negotiating Tactics and Nuclear Strategy
Peter Hayes, Nautilus Institute for Security & Sustainability, 2003.