About the Event

In this year’s Korean War Commemoration, we will feature guest speaker, Dr. Bruce Bechtol, Jr., President of the International Council on Korean Studies and author of North Korean Military Proliferation in the Middle East and Africa.

In North Korean Military Proliferation in the Middle East and Africa, Bruce E. Bechtol Jr. analyzes relevant North Korean military capabilities, what arms the nation provides and to whom, how it skirts sanctions, and how North Korea’s activities can best be contained. He traces illicit networks that lead to state and nonstate actors in the Middle East and throughout Africa. The potential proliferation of nuclear and chemical weapons technology and the vehicles that carry it represent a broader threat than the leadership in Pyongyang. Including training and infrastructure support, North Korea’s profits may range into the billions of dollars, all concealed in networks and front companies so complex that the nation struggles to track and control them. Bechtol not only presents an accurate picture of the current North Korean threat—he also outlines methodologies that Washington and the international community must embrace in order to contain it.

About our Guest Speaker:
Bruce E. Bechtol Jr. (Ph.D. Union Institute) is professor of political science at Angelo State University and a retired Marine. He is the current president of the International Council on Korean Studies, and serves on the board of directors of the Council on U.S.-Korean Security Studies. Dr. Bechtol is the author or editor of six previous books, including The Last Days of Kim Jong-il and Confronting Security Challenges on the Korean Peninsula.