War Games: The High Stakes of North Korea’s Nuclear Armament

The security alliance between the United States and South Korea dates back to the Cold War. At its heart is the containment of North Korea, one of three nuclear powers that could threaten the United States – and South Korea and Japan – with catastrophic nuclear war.   Siegfried Hecker, the former Director of Los Alamos National Laboratory, identifies the moment North Korea became a nuclear power–and how the U.S. missed its chance to stop it. Then, Ray Suarez talks with Dr. Victor Cha, Senior Vice President for Asia and Korea Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, to make sense of this escalating tension.   Guests:   Dr. Victor Cha, Senior Vice President for Asia and Korea Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies   Siegfried Hecker, former Director of Los Alamos National Laboratory and author of Hinge Points   Host:   Ray Suarez If you appreciate this episode and want to support the work we do, please consider making a donation to World Affairs. We cannot do this work without your help. Thank you.

Om Podcasten

Geopolitical turmoil. A warming planet. Authoritarians on the rise. We live in a chaotic world that’s rapidly shifting around us. “On Shifting Ground with Ray Suarez” explores international fault lines and how they impact us all. Each week, NPR veteran Ray Suarez hosts conversations with journalists, leaders and policy experts to help us read between the headlines – and give us hope for human resilience. A co-production of World Affairs and KQED.