DPRK Foreign Relations

Russia’s Iskander Ballistic Missile System Has Long Worried NATO: Its North Korean Cousin is Much More Dangerous

By | October 13, 2022

Analysis of a new North Korean weapon that bears a striking resemblance to Russia’s Iskander missile.

Pro-Kremlin Media: Closer Ties with North Korea Needed Against the West

By | October 09, 2022

A sanctioned Russian media outlet calls for the Kremlin to shore up ties with North Korea against the West.

Mirage of Peace: Trump, China, and Kim Jong-un

By | May 30, 2022

As the Biden administration mulls its approach to North Korea, we reconsider the Trump era “maximum pressure” policy within the context of Sino-North Korean relations.

Frozen Spring: Sino-Korean Diplomacy in 2022

By | May 07, 2022

Will 2022 bring more extensive diplomacy between China and the Koreas, or a new round of disputes and disconnections? This short essay reviews the terrain.

North Korea and Coronavirus: International Relations and Local Data from Dandong

By | September 21, 2021

Adam Cathcart reads some local public health data point from Dandong, and in the process surveys the vaccination landscape faced by a highly reluctant North Korea.

Brazil and Mexico’s Relations with North Korea

By | September 24, 2020

Sino-NK has looked at the roots of Brazil’s engagement with the Korean War armistice, with a nod to the 50,000 Koreans resident in the country. In this essay, Anthony Rinna looks back to 2017, when Brazil and Mexico showed a notable contrast in their approaches to the DPRK.

Power and the Periphery: The North Korea Factor in Sino-American Relations

By | July 09, 2020

North Korea is a constant feature, albeit an inconsistent one, in various aspects of China’s relations with the US. Anthony Rinna provides a reminder.

Chinese Doctors and North Korea: Reviewing the Pattern

By | April 27, 2020

A Reuters report on Chinese doctors treating North Korean leader Kim Jong-un spurs Adam Cathcart to deeper investigation of party-to-party medical relations.

Understanding North Korea: Foreign Relations of North Korea in 2000

By | November 04, 2019

In this translation from the original Korean, analyst Yujin Lim offers a glimpse of how Seoul perceived Pyongyang’s program of diplomatic outreach in the year 2000, offering observers a chance to peer into the origins of contemporary North Korean foreign policy.