Abstract - Stephen Bosworth 

Outlook for peace and stability on the Korean peninsula

The speaker will briefly examine the history of the two Koreas from the Japanese colonial period to the present. He will describe the multi-faceted and evolving competition between North and South Korea. He will also discuss the origins, rationale, and evolution of the North Korean nuclear weapons program. In addition he will trace the efforts of the last two decades on the part of the United States and other countries in the region to counter/roll back North Korea's nuclear weapons program and to offset the threat that program poses for regional stability and for global nuclear non-proliferation norms and goals. He will examine the specific interests of China, South Korea, Japan, and Russia that are at play in current efforts to bring about the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.