Environmental Issues

Politics and Pollack: A Piscine Story

By | May 30, 2014

Despite the importance ascribed to all parties of the Northern Limit Line, focus on developmental issues of a maritime nature has not been widely forthcoming. Robert Winstanley-Chesters applies a corrective, with the first of three essays focusing on the narratives, politics, and projects of North Korean fishing.

Of Eruptions and Men: Science Diplomacy at North Korea’s Active Volcano

By | May 08, 2014

Dr. Kayla Iacovino of the US Geological Survey was witness to a fascinating moment of scientific connection between North Korea and the wider world. Recalling her experiences getting to and working from the volcanic frontline at Mt. Baekdu, she considers the broader implications of cooperation and engagement with North Korea.

Vanadium and Socialism: Rare Earth Prospecting, Politics, and History in North Korea

By | April 28, 2014

Behind every cloud there is a silver lining and behind every developmental story in North Korea there is a narrative from Kim Il-sung. Robert Winstanley-Chesters investigates the pre-history of SRE Minerals’ contemporary Rare-Earth gambit.

“The Theatre of Farm Fields:” Kim Jong-un and the Subworkteam Leaders

By | March 30, 2014

Kim Jong-un has asserted that “the ideological and spiritual qualities of our agricultural working people have been transformed remarkably.” Robert Winstanley-Chesters investigates.

Framing Epistemic Communities in North Korea: From Fungus to Botanical Gardens

By | January 30, 2014

North Korean developmental praxis relies on epistemic communities and research institutions to achieve its goals. The country’s institutions are not only meta-devices for rolling out in reportage to add a veneer of intellectual legitimacy to centralized dictat, as Robert Winstanley-Chesters reveals in the case of Pyongyang Botanical Gardens.