File How to Realize Northeast Asia Nuclear Weapon Free Zone?
Dr. CHO Kyung Hwan
Former Visiting Research Fellow,
The Sejong Institute
English Abstract
There are various discussions on a Northeast Asia Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone (NWFZ) within academia. This, however, seems an unrealistic initiative now as the U.S.-China strategic competition intensifies and North Korea advances its nuclear capability.
Therefore, discussions must put aside certain prejudices and adopt appropriate modifications in order to keep the issue realistically at hand. Regional summits can be held to discuss ways to guarantee national security of North Korea and link “denuclearization” and the NWFZ initiative in the context of regional security cooperation. The annual Korea-China-Japan summit can serve as a proper starting point for these discussions.