EVENTS

Abstract           

North Korea conducted its fifth round of nuclear tests on 9 September 2016. This is the first time that in one calendar year, North Koreacarried out two nuclear tests and thereby Kim Jong-un has sent a clear message to South Korea and the US that their policy of pressure and sanctions are not effective. North Korea appears to be adamant to continue its nuclear program and concerned countries need to review their approaches to deal with North Korea. Earlier, the international community and specially neighbouring countries were unanimous and firm against North Korean nuclear weaponisation programme but after the declaration of installation of THAAD batteries in South Korea, China appears to be drifting away from the consensus. In the above context, it is pertinent to understand the motives and strategic significance of North Korean nuclear arsenals and evaluate the failure of South Korean and American policy to denuclearise North Korea.

About the Speaker

Sandip Kumar Mishra is Associate Professor at Centre for East Asian Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University. He is also an Adjunct Fellow at the Institute of Chinese Studies (ICS), Delhi and a Visiting Fellow at the Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies (IPCS), New Delhi. He writes a monthly column named East Asia Compass at the IPCS website. He completed his Master degree in International Politics from Jawaharlal Nehru University and obtained his M.Phil. and Ph.D. degrees from the same university working in the field of Korean Studies. He studied Korean Language in South Korea and has been Visiting Fellow and Visiting Scholar at many South Korean research institutes and universities. He also had a unique opportunity to visit North Korea on a research trip in 2013. The areas of his research interests are Inter-Korea Relations, North Korean Nuclear Issue, International Relations of East Asia and Korea, East Asian Security, and India-Korea Relations.