World has forgotten about North Korea’s nuclear threat, Bulletin head says — Korea Herald
Alexandra Bell, president and chief executive officer of the U.S. organization Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, said in Seoul, South Korea, that North Korea’s nuclear program remains a serious unresolved problem for the international nuclear nonproliferation system. She called on the international community to address the issue more actively, Korea Herald reports.
According to Bell, the world has for too long operated on the assumption that a solution to North Korea’s nuclear program would eventually emerge on its own. She described North Korea’s program as a major open problem in the global nuclear nonproliferation system.
Bell was referring to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, which forms the basis of the international system for preventing the spread of nuclear weapons. North Korea announced its withdrawal from the treaty in 2003.
Diplomacy and verification of agreements
The head of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists noted that technical tools and scientific expertise to verify and monitor a potential agreement with Pyongyang already exist. At the same time, she said that a settlement requires consistent diplomatic work rather than a single meeting of state leaders.
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She also said that the international community should give greater consideration to the security threat facing South Korean residents, as North Korea continues to develop its nuclear capabilities. Bell believes that the experience of previous negotiations with North Korea and the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran could be useful for future efforts regarding the North Korean program.
Possible Trump-Kim talks
Commenting on the possibility of renewed talks between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Bell recalled that she was surprised by Trump’s decision to meet Kim during his first presidential term without first securing commitments from Pyongyang. According to her, those meetings did not produce significant concrete results, but they changed the situation that had developed.
If dialogue resumes, diplomats, military experts and nuclear science specialists should be involved in shaping the negotiating process, Bell emphasized. She spoke on the sidelines of the Peace BAR 2026 festival and the second Miwon Peace Prize ceremony at Kyung Hee University in Seoul.
The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists was founded in 1945 by scientists who worked on the Manhattan Project. The organization, known for the Doomsday Clock, became this year’s recipient of the Miwon Peace Prize for its long-standing work to draw attention to existential threats, including nuclear weapons, climate change and emerging technologies.
