Nuclear Issues

Belfer Center experts offer insight and analysis of the Trump-Kim summit through statements and interviews.

Belfer Center Director and former Secretary of Defense Ash Carter talks about pulling out of the Iran Deal, North Korea, and more on CNN New Day with Chris Cuomo.

Ash Carter is a physicist and a defense-policy expert, having served in government periodically for decades. He was secretary of defense from 2015 to 2017. He has spent his academic career at Harvard, where he is today. In this “Q&A,” Jay Nordlinger asks him about some of the biggest issues: nuclear proliferation, North Korea, Iran, the size of the U.S. military. He also asks about the relation between our servicemen and the general American population. Is there too great a gulf between them? Do people sentimentalize our military? Is it okay to say “Thank you for your service”?

President Donald Trump, in unprecedented fashion, has been able to get the Chinese government to turn the screws on North Korea in hopes of getting Kim Jong Un to halt military provocations, according to a former diplomat who has advised Republican and Democratic presidents.

"The Chinese have done more under President Trump's prodding than any other American president. They signed on to the UN sanctions. There are now individual Chinese sanctions; the central bank governors instructed banks in China to wind up loans to North Korea," Nicholas Burns told CNBC on Friday. He appeared on "Squawk Box," a week before Trump embarks on a trip to Asia, which includes stops in China and South Korea.

Amb. Nicholas Burns, Harvard Kennedy School professor and former undersecretary of State for political affairs (2005 to 2008), provides his thoughts on the Trump administration's handling of North Korea's threat, and the message Kim Jong Un is attempting to send by lobbing missiles over Japan.

President Trump needs to encourage nations to impose stronger economic sanctions, says Amb. Nicholas Burns, Harvard Kennedy School professor, weighing in on combating North Korea's threats.

Nick Burns tells CNBC that Trump should stick with sanctions and avoid military conflict with North Korea. "Right now there are no good military options beyond defense," he says. Burns also says the Trump administration could begin to impose secondary sanctions.

Professor Burns discusses North Korea's missile threat on CNBC's Squawk Box. He said that this test could be a prelude to negotiations and presents a real challenge to the Trump administration. 

Professor Burns joins "CBS This Morning" to discuss the new U.N. economic sanctions against North Korea and China's role in the process.