Who we are

The Asia-Pacific Leadership Network (APLN) is a network of former and serving political, diplomatic and military leaders, as well as senior government officials, scholars and experts, dedicated to addressing security challenges in the Asia-Pacific, with a particular focus on nuclear non-proliferation, risk reduction, and disarmament. APLN is headquartered in Seoul, South Korea.

What we do

APLN aims to inform and stimulate debate, to influence action, and to propose policy recommendations designed to address regional security threats, with emphasis on nuclear and other WMDs (weapons of mass destruction) threats, and to do everything possible to achieve a world in which nuclear weapons and other WMDs are contained, diminished, and eventually eliminated. APLN members contribute to nuclear and regional security debates through publishing group statements, engaging in direct discussions with regional governments, publishing articles and papers, and debating the issues in public and private events. APLN works in concert with comparable leadership networks in Europe and Latin America. This website features the work of our members and experts to promote well-informed discussion and debate. It also monitors Asia-Pacific nuclear and regional security threats and outlines measures to contain and eliminate them.

The Asia-Pacific and nuclear weapons 

Home to six of the world’s nine nuclear-armed states, he Asia-Pacific region impacts every dimension of the global nuclear and security agenda, with acute tensions, complex dynamics and military risks in Northeast Asia and South Asia, accompanied by the steady growth in the size and sophistication of regional nuclear arsenals, their means of their delivery, and potentially destabilizing defensive systems. With the world’s economic, political, and security centres of gravity shifting to this region, its stake in a secure world order – and its responsibility to contribute with ideas, policy proposals and vision – have grown commensurately.