DPRK Foreign Relations
The Sino-DPRK Split and Origins of US-DPRK Bilateralism
Using archival material from the Woodrow Wilson Center, Eungseo Kim dissects the politics of Sino-US détente in 1972. He concludes that Pyongyang’s grievance against Beijing for its refusal to push preconditions for Sino-US diplomatic normalization was why Pyongyang decided it needed to deal directly with the United States.
One Year On: KBS Sends a Helicopter over the Kaesong Industrial Complex
KBS sent a helicopter to hover just inside the southern side of the North-South border and take pictures of conditions in the Kaesong Industrial Complex (KIC) a year after the complex was closed. Christopher Green reproduces their photos and translates the commentary.
Targeting Northeastern Tigers: Xi Jinping’s Anti-Corruption Campaign in Liaoning
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.
One Dystopian Korea: A Review of Our Aspiration is War by Jang Kang-myung
Sino-NK doesn’t review many novels, but that doesn’t mean fiction is irrelevant. Quite the opposite. Here, Robert Lauler reviews the latest book by “Because I Hate Korea” author Jang Kang-myung, in which he sketches out a disturbing, dystopian portrait of a future unified Korea.
THAAD and the Great Power Context: Russia’s Regional Interests in Korea
Taking his cue from Henry Kissinger, Anthony Rinna analyzes the THAAD question from the Russian perspective, viewing the Putin government’s opposition to THAAD deployment in the context of overlapping global and regional aspirations.





