Special Reports are longer, often more technical, documents consisting of entire articles, government statements, and other documents relevant to security and peace in Northeast Asia.
NAPSNet, Special Reports
ESTIMATES OF REFINED PRODUCT SUPPLY AND DEMAND IN THE DPRK, 2010 – 2017
DAVID VON HIPPEL AND PETER HAYES JUNE 30, 2019 I. INTRODUCTION In this Special Report, David von Hippel and Peter Hayes provide estimates of DPRK supply of and demand for petroleum products in recent years. Demand (and thus balancing supply) for key oil products in 2017 seems to have been considerably higher than official […]
Go to the articleTURKEY AND NUCLEAR COMMAND, CONTROL AND COMMUNICATIONS
CAN KASAPOĞLU JUNE 27, 2019 I. INTRODUCTION In this essay, Can Kasapoğlu argues that in contrast to the other four NATO “nuclear delivery states (Belgium, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Turkey), Turkey no longer appears to have an active nuclear weapons delivery mission using bombers and its NC3 system is likely dormant. “Yet,” he concludes, “in […]
Go to the articleCYBER OPERATIONS AND NUCLEAR WEAPONS
JON R. LINDSAY JUNE 20, 2019 I. INTRODUCTION In this essay, Jon Lindsay argues that “As NC3 increasingly uses digital technologies to enhance efficiency and reliability, the cybersecurity of NC3 becomes a pressing concern. Adversaries have incentives to penetrate NC3 for intelligence in peacetime and for counterforce in wartime. Given the broad diffusion of cyber […]
Go to the articleFRANCE: NUCLEAR COMMAND, CONTROL, AND COMMUNICATIONS
BENOÎT PELOPIDAS JUNE 13, 2019 II. INTRODUCTION In this essay, Benoît Pelopidas outlines what is known about French NC3 and identifies discursive, sociological and temporal challenges to assessing the validity of claims on this topic. After reviewing the primacy of presidential nuclear authority, the nuclear chain of command, civilian control over the arsenal, tension […]
Go to the articleDPRK’S NC3 SYSTEM
MYEONGGUK CHEON JUNE 6, 2019 I. INTRODUCTION In this essay, Myeongguk Cheon describes what is known about North Korea’s NC3 system. He concludes: “Regarding the DPRK’s NC3 system, however, many questions remain unanswered, even though it is clearly identified who has the final approval authority and what forces operates delivery systems for the employment […]
Go to the articleSECURITY AT EXTREME SCALES
ERIC GROSSE MAY 30, 2019 I. INTRODUCTION In this paper, Eric Grosse argues: “Much of the security progress over the past decade has been at large-scale, finding and patching vulnerabilities in widely used applications or defending networks of millions of machines containing high-value data. The lessons there may help military systems, but for the […]
Go to the articleMETHODS FOR REFINING ESTIMATES OF CUMULATIVE DPRK URANIUM PRODUCTION
DAVID VON HIPPEL May 27, 2019 I. INTRODUCTION In this report, David von Hippel “provides a demonstration of the potential impact of remote sensing methods and testing in the DPRK in reducing uncertainties in cumulative historical uranium production, and thus in fissile materials inventories; and, offers conclusions, resulting from the potential impacts of uncertainty […]
Go to the articleU.S. NUCLEAR COMMAND AND CONTROL FOR THE 21ST CENTURY
JOHN R. HARVEY MAY 24, 2019 I. INTRODUCTION In this essay, John Harvey asserts that the US NC3 system “must seek vastly improved senior leader conferencing capabilities to support decisions that go beyond what some of us call the Cold War’s “multiple choice test”—that is, which major attack option to execute. To support consultations […]
Go to the articleVERIFICATION OF DPRK NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT: THE PROS AND CONS OF NON-NUCLEAR-WEAPON STATES (SPECIFICALLY, THE ROK) PARTICIPATING IN THIS VERIFICATION PROGRAM
JOHN CARLSON MAY 19 2019 I. INTRODUCTION In this essay, John Carlson argues how a non-nuclear weapons state like the ROK may be involved in verification of nuclear disarmament by the DPRK in a manner consistent with non-proliferation principles. John Carlson was director general of the Australian Safeguards and Nonproliferation Office. He was appointed […]
Go to the articleNC3 IN A MULTIPOLAR NUCLEAR WORLD: BIG STRUCTURES AND LARGE PROCESSES
PAUL BRACKEN MAY 14, 2019 I. INTRODUCTION In this essay, Paul Bracken analyzes the big structures and large processes of nuclear multipolarity. The structures include the national command and control of at least eighteen countries, to include nine nuclear weapon states, “shared” weapons in NATO, missile defense, and key intelligence nodes in select […]
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