The CGSC Foundation’s Simons Center hosted an Arter-Rowland National Security Forum luncheon event on April 11, 2024, at the Carriage Club in Kansas City. The event featured a presentation entitled “A History of North Korea and Strategic Challenges for the United States.”

(Top photo and above) Dr. James E. Platte, assistant professor at the U.S. Army School of Advanced Military Studies at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, provides a presentation on North Korea during the Arter-Rowland National Security Forum luncheon event on April 11, 2024, at the Carriage Club in Kansas City.

Simons Center Director Bob Ulin welcomed the ARNSF members and welcomed guests. After lunch, he introduced the guest speaker Dr. James E. Platte, assistant professor at the U.S. Army School of Advanced Military Studies at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Platte provided an overview of North Korean history, contemporary U.S. relations with the two Koreas, and the strategic challenges posed by North Korea going forward. Platte reviewed how the U.S. has been deeply involved in Korean affairs since the Korean Peninsula was divided after World War II, and U.S. troops have been stationed in South Korea since fighting in the Korean War from 1950-1953. Pyongyang’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs have made North Korea a top U.S. national security priority since the early 1990s, and North Korea now can threaten U.S. interests in the Pacific and the U.S. mainland with nuclear weapons, with Pyongyang continuing to build up and diversify its nuclear forces. Platte also discussed the U.S. role in Korean affairs since 1945, the growing threat from North Korea, and how the United States and allies are working to counter North Korea.

James E. Platte is an assistant professor at the U.S. Army School of Advanced Military Studies (SAMS) at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. His research focuses on strategic deterrence, cybersecurity, energy security, and strategy in the Indo-Pacific. His writings have appeared in Asian Perspective, Comparative Strategy, Cyber Defense Review, and the Journal of International Politics, among others. He also co-edited and contributed a chapter to a recent book from Routledge titled Indo-Pacific Strategies and Foreign Policy Challenges: The US-China Strategic Competition. Prior to SAMS, he was an assistant professor at the US Air Force Center for Strategic Deterrence Studies, and he worked on nuclear security issues with the US Department of Defense and U.S. Department of Energy. He also held research fellowships with the National Bureau of Asian Research, East-West Center, Pacific Forum, Council on Foreign Relations, and the Harvard Kennedy School. He received a Ph.D. in international relations from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, an M.A. in science, technology, and public policy from George Washington University, and bachelor’s and master’s degrees in nuclear engineering from the University of Michigan.

After the presentation and a very lively question and answer period, Ulin presented Platte with a new CGSC/Simons Center coffee mug and coin in appreciation for his time with the Forum. Ulin closed out the luncheon with a short brief about the schedule for future gatherings of the Forum.

For more photos see the CGSC Foundation Flickr album

The Arter-Rowland National Security Forum (ARNSF) is led by the CGSC Foundation’s Simons Center and is an exclusive professional information sharing and networking forum for those interested in keeping abreast of relevant information about national security issues.

Members of the Forum and their guests meet periodically at guest speaker events in downtown Kansas City. National and regional guest speakers representing all elements of national power (Diplomatic, Informational, Military and Economic) highlight the meetings. The Forum is nonpartisan, but elected government officials may present from time to time.

The Forum is named after Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Robert Arter, Founding Chairman of the CGSC Foundation, and Mr. Landon Rowland, the Foundation’s first major donor who was well-known in Kansas City for his keen interest in national security issues and his leadership in business and philanthropy.

ARNSF events are only open to ARNSF members and their guests. If you are not a member but are interested in joining, contact Bob Ulin at rulin@cgscf.org or visit the Forum page on the Simons Center website for more information.

The Arter-Rowland National Security Forum is an exclusive professional information sharing
and networking event exclusively for select invitees of the CGSC Foundation and its Simons Center.