Schedule

Wednesday, April 10, 2024
6:30 p.m. Drinks Reception
7 p.m. Panel Discussion
7:45 p.m. Audience Q&A

Despite being one of the most sanctioned and isolated countries in the world, North Korea has come from having no nuclear weapons in 2001 to possessing materials for nearly 60 nuclear weapons in 2024. In his book Hinge Points: An Inside Look at North Korea's Nuclear Program, former director of Los Alamos National Laboratory Siegfried Hecker, Ph.D., examines the country's remarkable transformation, from the dual-track policy of seeking normalization with the U.S. while simultaneously developing nuclear weapons to its pivot from the U.S. to greater accommodation with China and Russia.

As the international community continues to grapple with security challenges presented by North Korea — which in the past year has aggressively supported Russia's invasion of Ukraine and declared South Korea as an enemy — join Asia Society Texas as Hecker is joined in conversation by Jim Falk, host of Perspectives Matter…a McCuistion Program, to discuss the status of North Korea's weapons program and its implications for global security.

About the Speaker

Siegfried Hecker is the former director of the Los Alamos National Laboratory and Professor Emeritus of Stanford University. He is currently professor of practice at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey and professor of practice in the Department of Nuclear Engineering at Texas A&M University. He spent 34 years at the Los Alamos National Laboratory beginning as a summer graduate student in 1965, returning as a postdoctoral fellow from 1968 to 1970, and as a technical staff member in 1973 after three years at the General Motors Research Center. He led the Materials Science and Technology Division and the Center for Materials Science before becoming the fifth director of the Los Alamos National Laboratory from 1986 to 1997. He was senior fellow until 2005 when he joined Stanford University.

He was at Stanford University for 17 years in the Department of Management Science and Engineering and in the Center for International Security and Cooperation (CISAC), including serving as co-director from 2007 to 2012. Hecker has worked on nuclear matters for most of his career, including having visited all countries with declared nuclear weapons programs, including North Korea. Hecker is the editor of Doomed to Cooperate (2016), two volumes documenting the history of Russian-U.S. laboratory-to-laboratory cooperation and Hinge Points: An Inside Look at North Korea’s Nuclear Program (2023) written with Elliot Serbin. Hecker is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and a fellow of numerous professional societies. Among other awards, he has received the Presidential Enrico Fermi Award (2009). 

About the Moderator

Jim Falk is the host of Perspectives Matter… a McCuistion Program that airs weekly on KERA-PBS (Dallas). From 2001-2021, he was president and CEO of the World Affairs Council of Dallas/Fort Worth and was elected president emeritus upon his retirement in March 2021. Jim is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and is Vice Chairman of the Board of Global Santa Fe, a trustee of World Neighbors and a member of the advisory board of Asia Society Texas Center and the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition (USGLC). He is the honorary consul of the Kingdom of Morocco for New Mexico and Texas.

As the host of Perspectives Matter…A McCuistion Program and through his work with the World Affairs Councils, Jim has interviewed prominent politicians, authors and diplomats including former James Baker, Condoleezza Rice, Madeleine Albright, Michael Pompeo, John Kerry. He is a graduate of Washington and Lee University and earned his MA in Foreign Affairs at the University of Virginia.

Asia Society hosts today's leading voices, providing commentary on events in news, society, and culture. Opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect Asia Society views.

Business and Policy programs at Asia Society Texas are presented by Bank of America, Muffet Blake, and ExxonMobil. Major support comes from Nancy C. Allen, Chinhui Juhn and Eddie Allen, The Brown Foundation, Inc., bp America, and Houston Endowment Inc. Generous funding provided by Anne and Albert Chao, ConocoPhillips, Mitsubishi Corporation (Americas), Regions Bank, and Stephanie and Frank Tsuru. Additional funding is provided by the Friends of Asia Society, a dedicated group of individuals and organizations committed to bringing the best in public programming.

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About Asia Society Texas

Asia Society Texas believes in the strength and beauty of diverse perspectives and people. As an educational institution, we advance cultural exchange by celebrating the vibrant diversity of Asia, inspiring empathy, and fostering a better understanding of our interconnected world. Spanning the fields of arts, business, culture, education, and policy, our programming is rooted in the educational and cultural development of our community — trusting in the power of art, dialogue, and ideas to combat bias and build a more inclusive society.