Nuclear Issues

When the Bomb Goes Boom: Gauging China’s Policy Responses

By | February 13, 2013

We have been tracking likely Chinese reactions to a North Korean test for the past two months. We capture official and un-official reactions. How were our predictions? Pretty good.

A Nuclear Hangover: South Korean Editorial Roundup

By | February 12, 2013

Christopher Green and Steven Denney dissect editorials from four South Korean daily newspapers following the North Korean nuclear test to provide a more nuanced breakdown of the domestic response in the South.

Incinerated Fantasy: Kim Jong-un, Zhu Feng, and a Censored Article in Beijing

By | February 09, 2013

Zhu Feng let fly with a savage combo of rhetorical assaults on the “badass” North Korean leadership, but was censored in Beijing. Our translation gives the reader insight into Chinese anger toward the DPRK.

Red Box, Blue Box, Green Box: Arguing against Institutional Pluralism

By | February 08, 2013

Christopher Green examines the durability, and the deficiencies, of the “post-totalitarian” thesis for the DPRK, and furthers the quest for a developmental understanding of North Korea.

A Most Peculiar Country: China’s Southern Weekly on North Korea

By | February 08, 2013

F. Bleeker translates a Southern Weekly article indicating that Chinese hopes for Kim Jong-un as reformer have given way to perceptions of a tougher neighbor than his late father ever was.