Options for Strengthening ROK Nuclear Assurance
Abstract
In this report, we describe a combined research effort between the RAND Corporation and the Asan Institute for Policy Studies that focused onoptions for strengthening Korean assurance of the U.S. nuclear umbrella offered to the Republic of Korea (ROK). It is a follow-on to a paper on the North Korean nuclear weapon threat issued in 2021 (Bennett et al., 2021) and a report on North Korean chemical and biological weapons, electromagnetic pulse, and cyber threats issued in 2022 (Bennett et al., 2022). As the North Korean nuclear weapon threat has grown, there has been considerable ROK interest in building an independent ROK nuclear weapon force. However, doing so could become a major disaster for the ROK and the United States. In this report, we suggest options that could be taken by the ROK and U.S. governments to strengthen ROK nuclear assurance of the U.S. nuclear umbrella given to the ROK and thereby avoid the ROK government pursuing its own nuclear weapons.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Oct 31, 2023
- Accession Number
- AD1214093
Entities
People
- Bruce E. Jr Bechtol
- Bruce W. Bennett
- Corteza A. Iii Cooper
- Du-hyeogn Cha
- Gregory S. Jones
- Kang Choi
- Myong-hyun Go
- U.k. Yang
Organizations
- RAND Corporation