DPRK Foreign Relations

Russia and Korean Security: The Views from Seoul and Tokyo

By | February 18, 2019

Anthony Rinna looks at how Seoul and Tokyo have been dealing with Russia in a world of neo-Cold War tensions between Moscow and Washington.

North Korea’s Nuclear State Status: Seeking Legitimacy in the International Community

By | January 29, 2019

Leeds University PhD student Yujin Lim, previously of the Brussels-based European Institute for Asian Studies, describes some of the deterrence theory and IR apparatus around North Korea’s quest for nuclear legitimacy.

The Korean Peninsula and Great Power Geopolitics: Then and Now

By | November 05, 2018

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

By | September 12, 2018

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

By | August 15, 2018

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.