Middlebury Institute Nonproliferation Experts Featured Widely in North Korea Coverage

Nonproliferation experts from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies and its James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies have been the go-to sources this past week for national and international media seeking independent analysis of news and images surrounding North Korea’s nuclear program.

This was especially true over the past weekend as the North Korean regime rolled out a cornucopia of new and existing missile hardware on display in a massive military parade celebrating the 105th anniversary of the birth of the nation’s founding leader Kim Il-sung on April 15. Coverage quoting Institute experts could be seen on CNN, Fox and NBC, heard on NPR, and found in the Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post, among other outlets.

Among those quoted in recent days—often from their prolific Twitter postings—are:

• Jeffrey Lewis, director, East Asia Nonproliferation Program (@ArmsControlWonk)
• Melissa Hanham, senior research associate (@mhanham)
• Dave Schmerler, research associate (@DaveSchmerler)
• Joshua Pollack, editor of The Nonproliferation Review (@Joshua_Pollack)

Lewis, Hanham and Schmerler’s work using publicly available images and data to deliver in-depth analysis of North Korea’s program and capabilities has been showcased in several recent pieces:

• “What One Photo Tells Us About North Korea’s Nuclear Program,”
  New York Times, February 24
• “How a group of analysts at MIIS are helping to stave off Armageddon,”
  Monterey County Weekly, March 16
• “The Detonation Detectives,”
  The Verge, March 24

The following is a summary of other recent coverage quoting Institute experts (check back for additions):

• “Have North Korea’s missile tests paid off?”
  BBC News, April 20
• “North Korea nuclear threat: should California start panicking?”
  The Guardian (UK), April 20
• “How North Korea Analysts Uncover the Hermit Kingdom’s Secrets,”
  New York Times, April 19
• “The North Korean military threat to America and its allies, explained,”
  Vox, April 19
• “Is the United States Really Blowing Up North Korea’s Missiles?”
  Foreign Policy, April 19
• “The Hidden Messages in North Korea’s Military Parade,”
  New York Times, April 18
• “Has the North Korean threat increased?”
  CNN, April 18
• “Official: Maybe Those North Korean Missiles Were Just Big Green Tubes,”
  NBC News, April 17
• “Pentagon announces review of nuclear posture amid North Korea tensions,”
  Fox News, April 17
• “The North Korean threat is literally on parade. Can Trump get China to act?”
  Washington Post, April 17
• “North Korea’s military parade: What we didn’t see,”
  CNN, April 17
• “North Korea endures missile test failure day after military parade,”
  USA Today, April 16
• “Pence calls North Korea’s failed missile test a ‘provocation,’ but White House sees no need for a response,”
  Los Angeles Times, April 16
• “North Korean Missile Launch Fails, and a Show of Strength Fizzles,”
  New York Times, April 15
• “Here are the missiles North Korea just showed off, one by one,”
  Washington Post, April 15
• “North Koreans Put New Advanced Missiles On Parade In Pyongyang,”
  NPR, April 15
• “North Korea Parades New Prototype Long-Range Missiles amid Nuclear Tensions: Experts,”
  NBC News, April 15
• “North Korea surprises with display of new missiles,”
  CNN, April 15
• “Kim Jong-un oversees display of N Korea military force,”
  Al Jazeera, April 15
• “North Korea Displays Apparently New Missiles as U.S. Carrier Group Approaches,”
  New York Times via Reuters, April 15
• “North Korea’s display of new missiles is worrying, analysts say,”
  Washington Post, April 15
• “North Korea shows off new missiles in huge military parade, but doesn’t test nuke,”
  Washington Post, April 14
• “Kim Jong Un Shows Off North Korea Missiles With World on Edge,”
  Bloomberg News, April 14
• “Trump thought China could get North Korea to comply. It’s not that easy.”
  Washington Post, April 13
• “Is US really in North Korea’s ‘nuclear sight’?”
  Fox News, April 13
• “North Korea preparing for nuclear test, satellite images suggest,”
  The Guardian (UK), April 13
• “Kim Jong Un’s rockets are getting an important boost — from China,”
  Washington Post, April 13
• “Trump threatens via Twitter to ‘solve the problem’ in North Korea,”
  MSNBC, April 11
• “How North Korea Analysts Uncover the Hermit Kingdom’s Secrets,”
  New York Times, April 19