At the request of the Joint Staff J-39 DDGO, SMA initiated an effort in April 2018 to develop a sound understanding of plausible near-term strategic outcomes of executing US political-military options to counter or defeat Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) threats to US national interests, ally and partner interests, and regional stability.
SMA assumed the following hypothetical US objectives: 1) complete and verifiable denuclearization of the DPRK; 2) non-proliferation of nuclear weapons in the Indo-Pacific; 3) stable security situation in Northeast Asia and Western Pacific; 4) strong, stable diplomatic and economic relationships and institutions in the Western Pacific; and 5) US well-positioned as a regional leader as it relates to the other objectives. SMA assessed strategic political, security, and economic implications of executing political-military options and their implications for US objectives and influences in the Western Pacific and Northeast Asia region in the near-term (0-2 years), medium-term (3-7 years), and long-term (7+ years). SMA conducted a three-phase effort to meet the request. In Phase I, prior to June 2018, SMA prioritized seven questions to identify potential “redlines” or actions that might cause an escalation of tensions with the DPRK. In Phases II and III, SMA focused on near- and long-term strategic outcomes of US objectives.
Assessment of Previous Cycles of DPRK, International Information Interactions, and US* by Joint Staff J-39
SMA held a speaker series to support the Korea Strategic Outcomes effort. Links to the recorded events, when available, are below:
April 26, 2018: Michele Wucker (Gray Rhino & Company)- The Gray Rhino: China’s Response to Obvious Risks
May 22, 2018: Dr. James Hoare (Chatham House/School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) Centre of Korean Studies), Dr. John Nilsson-Wright (Cambridge University), Prof. Steve Tsang (SOAS China Institute), and Dr. Nicholas Wright (Intelligent Biology/Georgetown University)- Regional Perspectives on North Korean Scenarios
May 31, 2018: Dr. Allison Astorino-Courtois (NSI), Dr. Larry Kuznar (NSI), Dr. Peter Suedfeld (University of British Columbia), and Dr. Nicholas Wright (Intelligent Biology / Georgetown University)- Insights into Kim Jong-Un’s Cognition Based on His Public Speeches
June 5, 2018: Dr. Toby Dalton (Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (CEIP)), Prof. Narushige Michishita (National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS)), and Dr. Nicholas Wright (moderator, Intelligent Biology/Georgetown University)- Korea Regional Impacts
June 8, 2018: Neil Sleevi (CGI Federal / USARMY TRADOC G2 Intelligence Support Activity)- The Athena Simulation: Modeling the Korea Region Social-Cultural Landscape
August 10, 2018: Andrea Berger (James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS)), Shea Cotton (CNS), and Cameron Trainer (CNS)- The Shadow Sector: North Korea’s Commercial IT Networks