Carolyn M. Leddy

Carolyn M. Leddy is a senior consultant in the defense and homeland security practice of an international consulting firm. Previously, she was a consultant for the National Institute for Public Policy where she focused on North Korea’s nuclear program and global counterproliferation strategies. Carolyn also served as director for counterproliferation strategy at the National Security Council where she covered North Korea’s nuclear program, proliferation financing, and chemical and biological weapons proliferation. She has written on North Korea’s nuclear program and provided commentary on proliferation issues to the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, National Public Radio, and other publications. Carolyn holds a BA from Sweet Briar College and an MA from Columbia University.

North Korea’s nuclear program, China’s strategic posture, and global proliferation trends will likely continue to drive Tokyo’s security and defense posture. Yet the perception of the strength of the U.S.-Japan defense relationship will increasingly factor into Tokyo’s policy deliberations. Carolyn’s research seeks to identify policies and courses of action that can strengthen Japan’s defense posture while maintaining a strong alliance relationship and any trends or circumstances that are likely to adversely affect Japanese and U.S. interests, including the direction of the Six-Party Talks and changes in U.S. nuclear policy.