Essays
Ending the Korean War: Donald Trump as Ex-President
Adam Cathcart looks at the end of the Korean War and its resonance today from an American perspective. Cathcart argues that Trump is in many respects in Korea acting more like an ex-President than a conventional, active one.
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.
History and Identity: Chosunjok in Yanbian
How has the unique history of Yanbian shaped the outlook of ethnic Koreans in China? Based on fieldwork and a new academic study of Korean identity, Steven Denney and Christopher Green investigate.
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.
The Road to Pyongyang II: Inter-Korean Summits and North Korean Media
In the second part of a series on Pyongyang’s domestic media coverage, Kyle Pope examines the portrayal of the chief actors involved in the high politics of summits: the leaders of the two Koreas.
Wreathes, Smoke, and National Interest: April 15 and Commemoration in Asia
East Asia’s cemeteries are a reminder that while leaders and rhetoric may change, the structure of the region remains the same. The borders set in 1953 have not moved. But is there something in the air? Steven Denney cogitates on the contingency of Korean War memory and what it may mean in the present.
The Sino-DPRK Split and Origins of US-DPRK Bilateralism
Using archival material from the Woodrow Wilson Center, Eungseo Kim dissects the politics of Sino-US détente in 1972. He concludes that Pyongyang’s grievance against Beijing for its refusal to push preconditions for Sino-US diplomatic normalization was why Pyongyang decided it needed to deal directly with the United States.
Targeting Northeastern Tigers: Xi Jinping’s Anti-Corruption Campaign in Liaoning
The Chinese Communist Party is in a state of tremendous ferment on the corruption issue. Surveying the mainland press for clues from Liaoning, Adam Cathcart assesses the campaign’s impact in a key border province.
South Korea’s Identity Gap: Diverging Views on North Korea
How close do South Korean youth feel to North Korea vis-a-vis their older compatriots? What do they think about the reunification of a nation long divided? Reviewing the latest survey data and fresh evidence from qualitative interviews, Phillip Lee and Steven Denney confirm what many have long suspected: a growing identity gap.
