| This week, continuing the special commentary series we launched last week on the theme ‘80 Years Since Nuclear Use — Looking to the Past to See the Future‘, we publish four new essays by Kim Won-soo, Sujata Mehta, Tatsujiro Suzuki, and Monalisa Hazarika. Each essay reflects on the past learnings and highlights specific pathways toward a nuclear-weapon-free world. Additionally, in this week’s APLN Korea Times column, Alvin Chew argues that Iran should reinforce its commitment to the NPT by taking a leading role in establishing a Middle East nuclear-weapons-free zone (NWFZ).
As always, we highlight recent activities from our network, including analyses on the vital role of diplomats in today’s world, developments in inter-Korean relations, energy policy of the European Union and the United States, safeguards in nuclear energy expansion, the role of the Quad, and India’s naval assets. |
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Nuclear Crisis on the Korean Peninsula:
Sleepwalking Into Nuclear Hell?
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Kim Won-soo, APLN member and former Under Secretary-General and High Representative for Disarmament Affairs of the United Nations, recalls the 2002 North Korean nuclear crisis and draws key lessons from his experience as a senior diplomat for the path ahead for renewed diplomacy and denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula.
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80 Years After Nuclear Use: Focusing On ‘Never Again’
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Sujata Mehta, Member of the APLN International Advisory Board and former Ambassador and Permanent Representative of India to the Conference on Disarmament, warns that while the horrors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki established a clear “never again” principle, current global crises and casual discussions of nuclear use risk eroding the nuclear taboo. Preventing nuclear use and pursuing disarmament remains a challenge that humanity can and must address.
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80 Years since Nuclear Use: Q&A with Tatsujiro Suzuki
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Tatsujiro Suzuki, Member of the APLN International Advisory Board and President of Peace Depot, identifies four key practical steps to reduce nuclear risks and advance disarmament: establishing risk-reduction dialogues among nuclear-armed states, discussing No-First-Use (NFU) policies, halting deployment of intermediate-range nuclear forces (INF), and reinforcing Negative Security Assurances (NSA) for non-nuclear weapon states.
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Youth and the Generation of Global Hibakushas
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Monalisa Hazarika, Strategic Communications and Partnership Officer at SCRAP Weapons, draws attention to the global hibakusha — victims of testing, mining, and radioactive contamination — whose plight has been largely ignored, revealing deep links between nuclear harm, colonialism, and systemic inequality. She advocates for urgent, inclusive action that integrates the voices of affected communities, strengthens international oversight, and addresses the interconnected challenges of nuclear security and justice.
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Strengthening the NPT via Nuclear Weapons-Free Zone
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Alvin Chew, one of our newest APLN members, observes that while Israel’s strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities have temporarily disrupted enrichment activities, Iran’s latent capabilities and stockpile of highly enriched uranium remain a concern. He emphasises that restoring transparency through IAEA oversight and advancing a Middle East nuclear-weapon-free zone (NWFZ) are essential steps to strengthen both regional and global non-proliferation norms.
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No More Hibakusha, No More Nagasaki
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The APLN joint project Reducing the Risk of Nuclear Weapon Use in Northeast Asia (NU-NEA), conducted in collaboration with the Research Center for Nuclear Weapons Abolition, Nagasaki University (RECNA), and the Nautilus Institute, was featured in an interview with Tatsujiro Suzuki. He discussed the project’s findings and introduced the report on a TV documentary produced by Nagasaki’s local station, which won a TV Galaxi Recommended Film Award last year and is now broadcast in English on NHK World.
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APLN has over 170 members from 23 countries in the Asia-Pacific.
Each week we feature their latest contributions
to global and regional security debates.
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| Marty Natalegawa, APLN Chair, wrote for the Jakarta Post, arguing that in today’s fragmented and divisive world, diplomacy must surge, and that credible, skilled negotiators are indispensable for crafting agreements and managing state relations. |
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| Manpreet Sethi, APLN Acting Director, wrote for BASIC and assessed what needs to be done to ensure another eighty years of nuclear non-use, urging world leaders to take concrete steps outlined in the Nobel Laureate Assembly declaration, from reaffirming test bans to rejecting notions of absolute security. |
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| Cheong Wook-sik, Director of the Hankyoreh Peace Institute and Director of the Peace Network, proposed that South Korea should redefine inter-Korean relations as a “relationship between states, a special relationship aimed at integration” rather than unification, arguing that this would be a more pragmatic and flexible approach to breaking the current deadlock and stabilising relations. |
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| Eunjung Lim, Professor at the Division of International Studies at Kongju National University, examined recent trends in climate and energy policy in both regions and compared their changing approaches to forecast the future direction of global climate governance. |
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| Trevor Findlay, Principal Fellow at the School of Social and Political Sciences at the University of Melbourne, spoke with NTI’s Logan Mintz about the role of safeguards in nuclear energy expansion, drawing on ideas from a paper he published with NTI in June 2025. |
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| Rajeswari Pillai Rajagopalan, Resident Senior Fellow at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), co-wrote an article with Justin Bassi, arguing that despite the temporary differences that have cropped up among the Quad partners, the Quad will continue to strengthen because of the security threats posed by China. |
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| Dongkeun Lee, APLN Policy Fellow, was interviewed by the South China Morning Post, where he noted that the two stealth frigates, part of India’s Project 17A, will be important assets for the Indian Navy in countering China’s influence in the Indian Ocean. |
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