Former LANL Director Siegfried Hecker

HISTORICAL SOCIETY NEWS RELEASE

“How did North Korea, one of the poorest and most isolated countries in the world, in the crosshairs of every U.S. administration during the past 30 years, progress from no nuclear weapons in 2001 to a threatening arsenal of 30 to 60 weapons today?

Former Los Alamos Laboratory Director Siegfried Hecker will address that question and others when he speaks about his forthcoming book written with Elliot Serbin, Hinge Points: An Inside Look at North Korea’s Nuclear Program, in Duane Smith Auditorium on January 10 at 7 p.m. 

Dr. Hecker’s seven visits to North Korea place him in a position to analyze the diplomacy and nuclear development in this new book, to be released by Stanford Press the same day of his talk. As well, the book discusses U.S. policy going forward. 

Sponsored by the Los Alamos Historical Society, Dr. Hecker’s talk is another in the series of the Alice and Lawry Mann Lectures. Previously the Historical Society’s Bathtub Row Press published Doomed to Cooperate: How American and Russian scientists joined forces to avert some of the greatest post-Cold War nuclear dangers. That title is still available in the History Museum Shop and is more relevant than ever considering Russia’s war on Ukraine.

In view of the current status of COVID in Los Alamos, attendees are encouraged to wear masks while in the auditorium.

Note: Stanford University Press is shipping copies of this new book, but with the close time frame they may not arrive by the night of the lecture. Dr. Hecker will be returning for a book signing at a future date to be announced.