Book Launch| King of Spies: The Dark Reign of America’s Spymaster in Korea
Wednesday, November 29, 2017
3:30pm – 5:00pm
6th Floor Board Room
Wilson Center
Ronald Reagan Building and
International Trade Center
One Woodrow Wilson Plaza
1300 Pennsylvania, Ave., NW
Washington, D.C. 20004
The Woodrow Wilson Center’s History and Public Policy Program welcomes New York Times bestselling author Blaine Harden for a book launch discussion of King of Spies, The Dark Reign of America’s Spymaster in Korea, an untold story of one of the most powerful spies in American history, who’s hidden work was key to U.S. military engagement in the Korean War, and its historical legacy today.
King of Spies is the story of U.S. Air Force Major Donald Nichols, an intelligence agent who operated in Korea for 11 secret years with his own army of spies, his own base, and his own murderous rules. Though he lacked the pedigree of most U.S. spies—Nichols was a 7th grade dropout—he quickly became a black ops phenomenon. He insinuated himself into the affections of America’s chosen puppet in South Korea, President Syngman Rhee, and became a pivotal player in the Korean War, warning months in advance about the North Korean invasion, breaking enemy codes, and identifying most of the targets destroyed by American bombs in North Korea.
Blaine Harden, (Author) Journalist, and former Tokyo bureau chief for The Washington Post
Patrick McEachern, (Commentator) Deputy Chief, Foreign Policy and Bilateral Affairs Unit, U.S. Embassy in Tokyo; Former North Korea Analyst, U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Intelligence and Research
Christian Ostermann (Moderator) Director, History and Public Policy Program, Wilson Center
