Author Archive

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.

On Contradiction: The PRC Foreign Ministry and “China Responsibility Theory”

By | July 15, 2017

When a spokesman pushed back against the Trump administration assertions that China is in the driver’s seat with North Korea, Washington had no response. What was between the lines of this statement from Beijing?

Memos from Pyongyang: A North Korean Perspective on the Otto Warmbier Case

By | July 10, 2017

Adam Cathcart does some further thinking around the death of Otto Warmbier, but with an underutilized angle; seeking clarity not on what Warmbier’s passing means for us, but on what it means in Pyongyang.

Buckling Down in Dandong

By | May 14, 2017

As Xi Jinping waxes poetic at the “One Belt, One Road” summit in Beijing, we investigate messy realities in the the Chinese border city that would be the ideal hub for any North Korean participation.

North Korean Economic Change as Relinquishing of Party Control

By | May 03, 2017

To what extent is the opposition between market activity and Party control in North Korea overstated? Adam Cathcart presents a few caveats.

Targeting Northeastern Tigers: Xi Jinping’s Anti-Corruption Campaign in Liaoning

By | February 06, 2017

The Chinese Communist Party is in a state of tremendous ferment on the corruption issue. Surveying the mainland press for clues from Liaoning, Adam Cathcart assesses the campaign’s impact in a key border province.

Amid Sanctions, a Sino-North Korean Rapprochement

By | November 30, 2016

With the passage of UN Security Council Resolution 2321, the US has managed to lock in UN implementation of a number of Treasury sanctions on North Korea. Will the PRC finally play the role of partner and ratchet up the pressure on the DPRK, or will it continue to say one thing but do another? Adam Cathcart considers the question.

Occupation at the Local Level: Kim Dong-choon on Korean War Atrocities

By | August 23, 2016

In an extensive new review essay, Adam Cathcart offers a sweeping assessment of Kim Dong-choon’s 2009 text on the Korean War, reinvigorating debate over both Korean War history and the societal tensions that come with it.