Author Archive

SEZ Revival Tour? Kim Jong-un in Dandong

By | January 14, 2019

Coverage of Kim Jong-un’s first diplomatic outing of 2019 yields little information on who Kim met in Dandong en route for Beijing. Since the border city is where the rubber of bilateral policy meets the road, it deserves more attention. Adam Cathcart does the honors.

Ending the Korean War: Donald Trump as Ex-President

By | July 31, 2018

Adam Cathcart looks at the end of the Korean War and its resonance today from an American perspective. Cathcart argues that Trump is in many respects in Korea acting more like an ex-President than a conventional, active one.

From New York to Dandong: Maximum Pressure

By | July 23, 2018

Digging into sources outside the Anglosphere, Adam Cathcart finds that developments along the border and further into the interior of both China and North Korea indicate any American desire to maintain economic pressure on the DPRK will be difficult, if not impossible.

Yongusil 94: Decoding the Sino-North Korean Borderlands

By , and | July 09, 2018

Sino-NK senior editors are excited to announce we have been working with Amsterdam University Press on an edited volume dealing with the issues and contradictions of the PRC-DPRK border. Our aim is to bring migration and economic issues into holistic dialogue. Here, we briefly introduce the project.

What Inspired DPRK Invective against China?

By | December 19, 2017

Amid new rumors of Chinese preparations for contingencies on the Korean peninsula and more sanctions enforcement, Chinese-North Korean relations seem likely to sour further. Adam Cathcart investigates a key example of North Korean public anger aimed at Beijing.

Right of Reply: Kim Jong-un’s Rejoinder to American Threats at the UN General Assembly

By | September 21, 2017

Pushing back against an over-reliance on personalist explanations for international conflict, Adam Cathcart retreats into history and some speculation.

Chinese Discourse on the New North Korea Sanctions

By | September 12, 2017

How have Chinese officials and periodicals been discussing trade with and sanctions on North Korea? Adam Cathcart investigates.

Korean People’s Army Contacts with the Chinese Military

By | August 21, 2017

The perception that China and North Korea no longer have the extensive bilateral contacts that they once did may be broadly speaking correct, but it is by no means the whole story. Here, Adam Cathcart brings to our attention an official event from July 25, 2017.