#61 - Daniel Pinkston

Korea and the World

For the past two decades, North Korea has repeatedly caused international concern with its development and testing of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles. But while the political aspects of these programs receive plenty of media attention, it is difficult to gain a realistic picture of the technologies at work, their effectiveness and the actual stockpiles in North Korea.

To learn more about North Korea's weapons programs, and especially the country’s missiles, we had the pleasure of interviewing Daniel A. Pinkston, lecturer in International Relations with Troy University in Seoul. Professor Pinkston is also the Northeast Asia Deputy Project Director for the International Crisis Group in Seoul and, before that, was director of the East Asia Nonproliferation Program at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at Middlebury College.

Professor Pinkston received his M.A. in Korean studies from Yonsei University and his Ph.D. in international affairs from the University of California, San Diego. He wrote The North Korean Ballistic Missile Program (2008) for the Strategic Studies Institute, and has published various academic articles and book chapters on security issues on the Korean peninsula.