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To Go or Not to Go: South and North Korea's Nuclear Decisions in Comparative Context1

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 March 2016

Jacques E. C. Hymans ,
Seung-Young Kim  and
Henning Riecke
Jacques E. C. Hymans
Affiliation:
Harvard University
Seung-Young Kim
Affiliation:
Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy
Henning Riecke
Affiliation:
Weatherhead Center for International Affairs
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Extract

Ever since the destruction of Hiroshima in 1945, states all over the world have been faced with the issue of whether or not to acquire the ‘absolute weapon’ for themselves. The question of ‘going nuclear’ has been especially acute on the Korean peninsula, with its history of conflict, division and great power meddling. Has any one of the two Koreas, or both, ever attempted to acquire nuclear weapons? Did either of them decide to abandon that quest? If so, when and why? These are the questions that motivate this paper.

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Journal of East Asian Studies , Volume 1 , Issue 1 , February 2001 , pp. 91 - 153
Copyright
Copyright © East Asia Institute 

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