The DEFCON Warning System™

Independent DEFCON monitoring and nuclear-threat analysis since 1984.

Korea

Would N. Korea use nukes against South Korea?

I don’t necessarily buy the proposition that North Korea is destined to use its nuclear weapons on its southern brethren when it

CIA says North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un is not crazy, but ‘very rational’

A top CIA official called North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un a “very rational actor” who doesn’t want a war with the United

Consequences of Testing an H-Bomb in the Pacific

For more than fifty years, since the entry into force of the Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (PTBT), almost all nuclear-weapon possessing

Thinking the unthinkable in China: Abandoning North Korea

North Korea’s nuclear antics have rattled its alliance with China to the point that Beijing is allowing the previously unthinkable to be

How to Tell If North Korea and America Are Actually Headed to War

Watch what Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un do, not just what they say. There are moments—like when the American president threatens

War of Words Impedes Complex North Korea Diplomatic Challenge

The provocative rhetoric between U.S. President Donald Trump and the North Korean leadership is adding to an already growing sense of pessimism

The Wide Spectrum of North Korea’s Weapons of Mass Destruction

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: In parallel with its growing offensive nuclear capabilities, North Korea possesses fully operational, extensive arsenals of chemical and biological weapons.

No, We Cannot Shoot Down North Korea’s Missiles

It’s time national leaders speak realistically about missile defense. The number one reason we don’t shoot down North Korea’s missiles is that

California Is Already Preparing for a North Korean Nuclear Attack

With U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un trading insults and threatening war, California officials are taking the

Will North Korea sell its nuclear technology?

By Daniel Salisbury, Stanton Nuclear Security Fellow at the Belfer Center, Harvard University. Earlier this month CIA Director Mike Pompeo suggested “the

Military Options Against N. Korea Fraught With Danger: Analysts

In his United Nations General Assembly speech Tuesday, American President Donald Trump said the United States is “ready, willing and able” to

Russia and China Join Forces for Drill Near North Korea

Russia and China have kicked off naval drills from the largest Russian port in the region bordering North Korea, whose recent nuclear