I am in Seoul to attend the Asan Plenum, which the Asan Institute is hosting in advance of the Nuclear Security Summit in Seoul.
I am on four panels — no, that is not a typo. Buy me a drink and I will explain how that happens. I’ve already given a talk on Myanmar, with panels today on China’s nuclear weapons program, a comparative look at nuclear weapons programs in Iran and Pakistan, and engaging China and Russia on disarmament.
It has been a very interesting meeting so far. The Asan Institute for Policy Studies, which is hosting the Plenum, is extraordinarily professional and well-funded. (The Asan Institute for Public Policy is a research institution funded with the Hyundai fortune.) This makes the Carnegie International Nuclear Policy Conference look like a roundtable in a church basement.
Last night at dinner, Chung Mong Joon — scion of the Hyundai fortune and a candidate for President in South Korea (or at least his party’s nomination) — reiterated his support for redeploying US tactical nuclear weapons in South Korea. I am waiting to see if that will make the papers here or back home.