The Retired Men’s Association of Greenwich (RMA) will present Robert Gallucci discussing “North Korea and Nuclear Deterrence in the 21st century” at their next meeting Wednesday, July 12.
Robert Gallucci will discuss U. S. efforts to curtail North Korea’s path to nuclear armament and the options currently available to us. A distinguished diplomat and academic leader, he has devoted much of his career to questions of disarmament. As Ambassador-at-Large and Special Envoy for the U.S. Department of State, he dealt with the threats posed by the proliferation of ballistic missiles and weapons of mass destruction. He was chief U.S. negotiator during the North Korean nuclear crisis of 1994, and served as Deputy Executive Chairman of the UN Special Commission overseeing the disarmament of Iraq following the first Gulf War.
The threat of nuclear armament by North Korea has vexed American presidents for decades. Despite a mix of negotiations, promises of aid, sanctions, sabotage, and threats of unilateral air strikes, the United States has been unable to force North Korea to give up its weapons program. In this tangled history, the North has broken agreements, refused inspection of its nuclear facilities by the International Atomic Energy Agency, and twice announced its withdrawal from the Nuclear Proliferation Treaty. Since 2006 it has conducted five successful nuclear tests and has recently accelerated its missile program.
The Trump administration has proclaimed North Korea our nation’s most “urgent threat” and vowed to pressure it into “dismantling its nuclear, ballistic missile and proliferation programs.” But how realistic is this? Under Bush and Obama the policy goal was “complete, verifiable, irreversible disarmament.” The United States continues to seek stability and the peaceful denuclearization of the Korean peninsula. However, some experts doubt this objective is achievable and think we should seek old fashioned deterrence.
After 21 years of distinguished service in a variety of government positions, Gallucci served as Dean of the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University from 1996 to 2009 and as president of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation from 2009 to 2015.
Today Gallucci, is the Distinguished Professor in the Practice of Diplomacy at Georgetown and Chairman of the US-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins University’s SAIS. He is also coauthor of Going Critical: The First North Korean Nuclear Crisis, and his written articles include “Averting Nuclear Catastrophe: Contemplating Extreme Responses to U.S. Vulnerability” (2006), and “America Deals with North Korea: A Realist’s Approach” (2003).
The Greenwich RMA offers a free program every Wednesday at 11 a.m., at the First Presbyterian Church, 1 W. Putnam Ave., that is open to the public; no reservations are required. For more information, visit greenwichrma.org or contact info@greenwichrma.org
