DPRK Foreign Relations
The Korean Peninsula and Great Power Geopolitics: Then and Now
Anthony Rinna returns with a look at how the history of international relations in late 19th and early 20th Northeast Asia can help inform us of the possible future trajectory of Beijing-Moscow ties.
China and Russia on a Nuclear North Korea: Policy Alignment, Divergent Relationships
What is the state of Sino-DPRK and Russia-DPRK relations? A quick glance might led one to think there is total Chinese and Russian policy convergence vis-a-vis Korea, but the evidence indicates significant differences in how Moscow and Beijing see the DPRK. Anthony Rinna explains.
Dual Perspective: Reading Thae Yong-ho
Thae Yong-ho’s memoir marks a bold attempt to push back the tide of South Korean public ambivalence toward North Korea, a sprawling 500-page narrative of his experiences in the DPRK diplomatic corps over twenty years and ending with his 2016 defection. Robert Lauler takes a look at this essential, if flawed, text.
Responsibility Theory: Russian and US Policy Analysis of China’s Role in the Korea Crisis
Anthony Rinna considers how the Kremlin and Washington differ in their views on China’s role in the Korea crisis by looking at Russian and American think tank research.
From New York to Dandong: Maximum Pressure
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.
Moscow’s Korea Policy: Priorities and Trends in the Think Tanks
What do we know about what the Russian government knows about North Korea, and what policy advice is coming out of Moscow and the Russian Far East? Anthony Rinna pivots back to this question and emerges with some surprising conclusions.
Wither the Wonks? American Think Tank Research on Moscow’s Policy Toward the Korean Peninsula
To what extent do American policy analysts cover connections between the Russian Federation and the the Korean Peninsula? Not much, Anthony Rinna shows in his first part of a two-part series on the state of Korea-Russia analysis in major US think tanks.
Symbol and Substance: China’s Scramble for Influence in the Korean Peace Process
Chinese pressure on North Korea during 2017 served to accelerate declining relations between the two. Now, with peace ostensibly looming, China wants to reverse course. Tom Fowdy looks at the challenges faced.
