Lessons from the Cuban Missile Crisis

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Lessons from the Cuban Missile Crisis

Published: 14 Oct. 2025, 00:05

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

Roh Jung-tae

The author is a writer and senior fellow at the Institute for Social and Economic Research.

On Oct. 14, 1962, a U.S. U-2 reconnaissance aircraft captured evidence that would bring the world to the brink of nuclear war. The photographs showed Soviet forces constructing SS-4 ballistic missile launch sites in Cuba. Washington had suspected Moscow’s activities on the island but lacked proof — until that moment. The discovery marked the beginning of the Cuban Missile Crisis.

The Soviet Union was effectively holding a nuclear knife to America’s throat, just 150 kilometers (93.2 miles) off its shore. The Kennedy administration faced an agonizing choice: launch an immediate strike or seek a diplomatic path. After days of tense deliberations, President John F. Kennedy decided to impose a naval “quarantine” on Cuba — a blockade in all but name — while offering the Soviets a chance to withdraw peacefully.

President John F. Kennedy poses in his White House office with Gen. David Shoup, left, Marine Corps Commandant, and Adm. George Anderson, Chief of U.S. Naval Operations, Oct. 29, 1962. The chiefs met with the president to review the present situation in Cuba and operation of the U.S. naval blockade. [AP/YONHAP]

“Any nuclear missile launched from Cuba against any nation in the Western Hemisphere will be regarded as an attack by the Soviet Union on the United States, requiring a full retaliatory response upon the Soviet Union,” Kennedy warned in a televised address on Oct. 22. At the same time, the U.S. military went on Defcon 3 alert, and naval forces moved into the Caribbean. Across the United States, schools and households practiced evacuation drills and built fallout shelters as fear of World War III gripped the world.

A week later, on Oct. 28, the crisis ended as Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev agreed to dismantle the missile sites and withdraw the weapons in exchange for a U.S. pledge not to invade Cuba.

Khrushchev’s move had been a high-stakes gamble to counter U.S. nuclear superiority. The Soviet Union lacked the capability to win a nuclear confrontation, but it hoped to change the strategic balance. Kennedy’s White House, analyzing the situation with calm precision, chose firmness backed by military strength while leaving room for de-escalation. The result was a peaceful resolution that avoided catastrophe.

Today, as North Korea strengthens its nuclear capabilities and expands military cooperation with Russia and China, Kennedy’s combination of restraint and resolve remains a powerful lesson. The Cuban Missile Crisis stands as a reminder that clear-eyed judgment and disciplined diplomacy can defuse even the most perilous confrontations.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.