US-DPRK Relations

A Complicated Story: Why the United States Needs A North Korea Roadmap

By | March 27, 2018

If you are going on a long journey, you should pack a map. Then, why would the US enter into a diplomatic process with North Korea without any discernible strategic outline of how it will get to its goals? Mintaro Oba calls for a Korean peninsula roadmap.

North Korean Human Rights in the State of the Union

By | January 31, 2018

President Trump used his first State of the Union address to criticize North Korea for its human rights abuses. Trump’s framing contrasts sharply with the somewhat positive messaging coming from Seoul. Leif-Eric Easley compares and contrasts.

North and South Korea Are Talking: Keep Expectations Low

By | January 23, 2018

It should have surprised nobody that Pyongyang would seek to capitalize on South Korea’s desire to host a positive, peaceful and perhaps even profitable Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang next month. But how does the South Korean public feel about it?

What Inspired DPRK Invective against China?

By | December 19, 2017

Amid new rumors of Chinese preparations for contingencies on the Korean peninsula and more sanctions enforcement, Chinese-North Korean relations seem likely to sour further. Adam Cathcart investigates a key example of North Korean public anger aimed at Beijing.

Right of Reply: Kim Jong-un’s Rejoinder to American Threats at the UN General Assembly

By | September 21, 2017

Pushing back against an over-reliance on personalist explanations for international conflict, Adam Cathcart retreats into history and some speculation.