DPRK Foreign Relations

The Historical Roots of Defensive Fundamentalism in North Korea: Maurizio Riotto

By | April 03, 2013

What are the roots of Korean skepticism towards China? SinoNK features a working paper by a top Italian Koreanist, with analysis by Aaron McNicholas.

The Amulet: Chinese Justification for North Korea’s Nuclear Ambitions

By | April 01, 2013

Mycal Ford parses an op-ed indicating reservoirs of support in the PRC establishment for North Korea’s formula of economic development via nuclear weapons.

Soviet-DPRK Relations: Purges, Power, and Dissent in North Korea’s Formative Years

By | March 29, 2013

Andrei Lankov looks back to show how Soviet-DPRK relations and Kim Il-sung’s rule were guided not by ideology but by the demands of good old-fashioned power.

Billion Dollar Miscalculation: B-52s, Korea, and Missiles

By | March 24, 2013

SinoNK dismantles the signals being sent by a B-52 run over Korea, and describes why a move away from American conventional deterrence would be a net loss.

The Prisoner: Questioning the Kenneth Bae Narrative

By | March 23, 2013

Adam Cathcart translates an article from the France-North Korea Friendship Association that sheds new light on the case of an American who has been held in the DPRK since November 3, 2012.