Joshua H. Pollack

Editor, the Nonproliferation Review,
Senior Research Associate

[email protected]
Washington, DC
202.601.2343

Activities

Joshua H. Pollack is the Editor of the Nonproliferation Review and a Senior Research Associate. He is a leading expert on nuclear and missile proliferation, focusing on Northeast Asia.

Background

Before joining MIIS in April 2016, Pollack served as a consultant to the US government, specializing in issues related to weapons of mass destruction, including proliferation, arms control, and deterrence. As a defense policy analyst at DFI International, Science Applications International Corporation, and Constellation West, his clients included the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, the Department of Homeland Security, the National Nuclear Security Administration, and the Plans and Policy Directorate (J5) of US Strategic Command. In 2015, he was named an Associate Fellow of the Royal United Services Institute.

Pollack is a frequent commentator in major media outlets, including CNN, the Washington Post, the New York Daily News, Reuters, Vox, Asia Times, Voice of America, NPR, and others.

Education

• MA of Public Management with specialization in international security and economic policy, University of Maryland College Park
• AB with Departmental Honors in Medieval and Renaissance Studies, Vassar College

Bibliography

• “North Korea Resuming Construction at the Yongbyon 50 MW(e) Reactor,” ArmsControlWonk.com, May 10, 2022.
• “A no-fly zone might help Ukraine. Or it might lead to nuclear war.” Washington Post, March 4, 2022.
• “Why Do US Hypersonic Missile Tests Keep Failing? They’re Going Too Fast,” DefenseOne, January 3, 2022.
• “Public-health engagement with North Korea in the COVID-19 era: challenges and opportunities,” CNS Occasional Paper #53, December 2021.
• “Understanding U.S. debates over nuclear declaratory policy,” Korea on Point, December 10, 2021.
• “How the Biden Administration Can Restore the Balance in Nuclear Policy,” James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies, December 3, 2021.
• “North Korea Expanding Uranium Enrichment Plant at Yongbyon,” ArmsControlWonk.com, September 14, 2021.
• “The Biden Administration and Nuclear Arms Control,” Korean Journal on Nuclear Nonproliferation and Energy, January 2021.
• “South Korea’s missile forces and the emergence of triangular strategic (in)stability,” Nonproliferation Review, 2020.
• “Peeking under the Shroud of North Korea’s Monster Missile,” ArmsControlWonk.com, November 5, 2020.
• “China’s DF-26: A Hot-Swappable Missile?” ArmsControlWonk.com, May 27, 2020.
• “Hypersonic Glide Vehicles: What are They Good for?” ArmsControlWonk.com, December 30, 2019.
• “Options for a Verifiable Freeze on North Korea’s Missile Programs,” CNS Occasional Paper #46, April 30, 2019.
• “North Korea’s International Scientific Collaborations: Their Scope, Scale, and Potential Dual-Use and Military Significance,” CNS Occasional Paper #43, December 19, 2018.
• “Who’s Deceiving Whom? Open Source North Korea Under the Microscope,” NK News, December 11, 2018.
• “Denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula: Reviewing the Precedents,” ArmsControlWonk.com, June 10, 2018.
• “From LeMay to McMaster: The Pentagon’s Difficult Relationship with Deterrence,” War On The Rocks, December 29, 2017.
• “Open-Source Monitoring of Uranium Mining and Milling for Nuclear Nonproliferation Applications,” CNS Occasional Paper #34, December 6, 2017.
• “WMD Proliferation Risks at the Nexus of 3D Printing and DIY Communities,” CNS Occasional Paper #33, October 27, 2017.
• “Nuclear Dangers from North Korea: Managing the Risks to the US and Russia,” Russia Matters, October 27, 2017.
• “How North Korea makes its missiles,” NK News, August 18, 2017.
• “Is Crisis Stability Still Achievable?” Forum on Physics and Society, March 16, 2017.
• “Ballistic Missile Defense in South Korea: Separate Systems Against a Common Threat,” Center for International and Security Studies at Maryland, January 2017.
• “The Emergence of an American/Korean Strategic Triangle,” Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies, May 1, 2016.
• “Elimination of weapons of mass destruction: lessons from the last quarter-century,” Nonproliferation Review, Vol. 23, No. 1-2, March 2016.
• “Boost-glide Weapons and US-China Strategic Stability,” Nonproliferation Review, Vol. 22, No. 2, September 2015.
• “North Korea and the United States: Diplomacy at an Impasse,” RUSI Newsbrief, January 31, 2014.
• “The Secret Treachery of A.Q. Khan,” Playboy, January/February 2012.
• “Ballistic Trajectory: The Evolution of North Korea’s Ballistic Missile Market,“ Nonproliferation Review, Vol. 18, No. 2, July 2011.
• “China’s Acquisition of Strategic Weapons,” SAIC for the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, September 2010.
• “Enhancing Public Resilience to Mass-Casualty WMD Terrorism in the United States Definitions, Challenges, and Recommendations,” SAIC for the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, June 2010.
• “Emerging Strategic Dilemmas in U.S.-Chinese Relations,” Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, July 2009.
• “Evaluating Conventional Prompt Global Strike,” Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, January 2009.

CNS Work

• Podcast Appearance on the Nuclear Dynamics of Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine
  CNS expert Josh Pollack, editor of the Nonproliferation Review, made a guest appearance on Julie McDowall’s podcast, “Atomic Hobo.”
• In the pages of the Nonproliferation Review: Russia and biological weapons
  Articles analyzing Russia’s long history of fabrications about biological weapons and Russia’s own BW history
• OP #53: Public-health Engagement with North Korea in the COVID-19 Era
  A new program of humanitarian aid will be needed to permit a safe reopening, and potentially also to address the human consequences of the protracted closure.
• How the Biden Administration Can Restore the Balance in Nuclear Policy
  Nuclear policy-makers must find the balance between deterrence and nonproliferation interests.
• Nonproliferation Review, Vol. 26, Nos. 5–6
  Includes a Special Section on the shifting South Asian nuclear landscape.
• NPR’s Iran Reader
  Key articles on Iran’s nuclear program and the world’s response.
• US-North Korea Diplomacy Is Over for Now. What Comes Next?
  After fruitless negotiations, Kim Jong Un is turning back to his weapons scientists.
• Evidence about North Korea’s Nuclear-Weapon Designs
  Open-source data presents a consistent picture of DPRK’s four nuclear-weapon designs
• How Trump Used Classified Intel to Troll Iran
  If Donald Trump wants to disclose secrets to the Russian ambassador, or to the entire world via Twitter, he may do so. But at a massive cost to the U.S. intelligence apparatus.
• The Limits of Kim’s Patience: Will North Korea Test another Missile Soon?
  As negotiations continue to stall, the DPRK leader’s options appear increasingly limited.

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• >>

View list on separate page