In addition to hosting a successful 2012 Nuclear Security Summit, South Korea is pursuing several nuclear-related national interests not directly associated with the conference, says Fred McGoldrick, partner in international consulting firm Bengelsdorf, McGoldrick, and Associates, LLC.

The Lisbon Protocol to the START I Treaty (Protocol to the Treaty Between the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on the Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms) was signed on May 23, 1992.

UN Security Council Resolution 699 was adopted on June 17, 1991. The resolution gave the IAEA and the UN Special Commission (UNSCOM) authority to conduct inspections for weapons in Iraq and destroy, remove or render the weapons harmless.

Micah Zenko discusses whether Israel should accept a nuclear ban.

Republican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney outlines his strategy toward Iran in this Washington Post piece.

U.S. State Department Spokesperson Victoria Nuland gave this statement on February 29, 2012 regarding U.S.-North Korea bilateral talks and North Korea's agreement to implement a moratorium on nuclear activities including uranium enrichment.

The Six-Party Talks serve as a forum about North Korea's nuclear weapons program, but the negotiations have been riddled by Pyongyang's belligerence and the differing priorities of the participating nations.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) published their updated report on the "Implementation of the NPT Safeguards Agreement in the Islamic Republic of Iran" on February 24, 2012. The report updates the nuclear situation in Iran since the last report of November 2011. Among its findings: "The Agency continues to have serious concerns regarding possible military dimensions to Iran's nuclear programme".

Richard N. Haass and Michael A. Levi say it is in the American interest to pursue a negotiated outcome to the current impasse with Iran because the main alternatives to diplomacy—war or the existence of an Iran with nuclear weapons—will be costly and risky.

Ray Takeyh examines the roots of Iran's desire to advance its nuclear program.

The United States will "increasingly seek partnerships with other like-minded countries [in the region] to ensure global stability, security, and prosperity." In a new volume of collected essays, CFR Senior Fellow Scott Snyder writes that one of the strongest partners for the United States is South Korea.

The extraordinary risks posed by a nuclear-armed Iran require Washington and its partners to step up activity on economic sanctions and diplomacy, even while preparing military options, says CFR President Richard N. Haass.

Richard N. Haass argues that Iran's nuclear program may be the most important international issue in 2012.

The European Union's embargo on Iranian oil may bring Iran to the negotiating table but is unlikely to halt its controversial nuclear program, says CFR's Matthew Kroenig.

The EU's oil embargo is part of a larger Western effort to pressure Iran to reengage over its disputed nuclear program, but some debate the merits of intensified diplomacy with the regime in Tehran.

CFR Senior Fellows Ray Takeyh and Matthew Kroenig discuss the escalating tension with Iran and the challenges it poses for US strategy in this Council on Foreign Relations Special Briefing.

Leslie H. Gelb discusses the need to examine the rationale for, and potential consequences of, going to war with Iran.

Ray Takeyh says Iran's recent aggression is based on Tehran diligently pursuing a three-track policy that involves provocation of the international community and making noises about diplomacy as it relentlessly marches toward the bomb.

The latest revelations over Iran's uranium enrichment activities have triggered debate over a slew of policy options from more sanctions to preventive strikes.

Micah Zenko and Emma Welch argue that while the Republican presidential candidates overwhelmingly describe the prospect of an Iranian nuclear weapons capability as "unacceptable" and endorse the use of military force if that were necessary to prevent an Iranian bomb, there is a complete absence of any details on how the use of force could accomplish this ambitious objective.