It has become popular to describe the current situation on the Korean Peninsula as a “slow motion Cuban Missile Crisis”. The temptation to do so is understandable since there are significant similarities between the two. For instance, both occurred because the militarily weaker power made a strategic move to even the balance. In 1962, the Soviets tried to sneak missiles into range of the United States to offset their lack of reliable intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM). Today, North Korea is undertaking an accelerated ICBM and associated nuclear warhead programme to deter the overwhelming conventional and nuclear superiority of the US.
Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation
Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation
820 1st Street NE, Suite LL-180
Washington, D.C. 20002
Phone: 202.546.0795