May 13, 2025

KIPEC convened a roundtable featuring Matthew Kroenig, Vice President and Senior Director of the Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security and Director of Studies at the Council. The session centered on the "Nuclear Policy Outlook for the Second Trump Administration," with a focus on the recent expansion of nuclear capabilities by China and North Korea, and the implications for regional security. Kroenig outlined the Trump administration’s strategic objective to enhance U.S. nuclear forces as a means to counterbalance the growing nuclear capabilities of China and North Korea. He underscored the critical role of South Korea in maintaining regional stability, highlighting the importance of reducing tensions with North Korea and sustaining a diplomatic equilibrium with China to strengthen the Indo-Pacific nuclear deterrence architecture.