Jeffrey Lewis, Director of the Nuclear Strategy and Nonproliferation Initiative at the New America Foundation, writes “Rather than focusing on extended deterrence and nuclear capabilities in particular, I would suggest we think about what might be called “extended defense”—what are the actual capabilities that the United States and its allies in Northeast Asia would procure and deploy to deal with the most urgent threats? These are increasingly missile defenses and antisubmarine warfare capabilities, not nuclear cruise missiles and bomber bases. The excessive focus on nuclear capabilities has stunted the US dialogue with its security partners in Northeast Asia, wrongly placing the emphasis on ephemeral capabilities that will necessarily evolve instead of shared interests and values that will endure.”

Masashi Nishihara, President of the Research Institute for Peace and Security in Japan, writes, “Should Japan and South Korea declare a nuclear weapon-free zone? My answer is: “No, not without a substantial change in the regime in North Korea.” Certainly the idea of such a zone is intriguing, but it is just not realistic.”