Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center Stanford University


Shorenstein APARC News



November 19, 2009

North Korea Unlikely to Give Up Nuclear Weapons

KSP in the news: AFP on November 16, 2009

David Straub, associate director of Korean Studies Program, told a Korea Foundation-organized seminar in Seoul that he sees "no indication that North Korea, in the foreseeable future, is prepared to give up its nuclear weapons programs on terms that the US will find politically acceptable." While supportive of Ambassador Bosworth's upcoming visit to Pyongyang, Straub, a former State Department Korean affairs director, noted that North Korea's recent words and deeds had left most American observers increasingly skeptical about North Korean intentions.