Military
Billion Dollar Miscalculation: B-52s, Korea, and Missiles
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.
Atomic Aftermath: An Op-Ed Glossary
Adam Cathcart and Mycal Ford take on a slew of op-eds, half-truths, and brilliant assertions in a creative A-Z glossary of post-nuclear news and opinion.
Smoke Bombs and Tunnels: Chinese Experts Probe North Korea’s Nuclear Intentions
A vigorous roundtable discussion with pro-DPRK, pro-China and international views sheds light on China’s thinking toward a third North Korean nuclear test. An exclusive SinoNK translation.
Camp 22 and Camp 14: Barbed Signposts for the New Kim Era
This essay by Christopher Green covers the alleged closure of Camp 22, dissects news that Camp 14 is expanding, and casts doubt upon Kim Jong-un’s approach to human rights in North Korea.
Clinging to North Korea: A Chinese Traditionalist View
An extended apology for China’s orthodox alignment with the DPRK was recently published in Huanqiu Shibao. Roger Cavazos translates, and goes on a journey that ranges from aircraft carriers to Afghanistan.
Kwangmyŏngsŏng-3 and Beyond – Narrative and Legitimative Power of the DPRK in the Space Race
If you had just put a satellite into space, what would you do with it? Channeling Sputnik and ignoring the geopolitical furore completely, Robert Winstanley-Chesters contemplates.
Game of Battleships: A Commentary on the History and Future of the Northern Limit Line Disputes
Mycal Ford surveys the turbulent waters around the disputed Northern Limit Line, probing for contemporary and historical clues about the possibility for renewed inter-Korean hostility.
Contemplating a Post-Xi Landscape: Four Scenarios for Xi Jinping’s Absence, Return, or Purge
Roger Cavazos (SinoNK Coordinator & Analyst with Nautilus Insitute) injects multiple doses of realism and context into the mystifying narrative of Chinese heir apparent Xi Jinping’s disappearance.
Stakeholder Spotlight: Zhou Yongkang, North Korea, and the Ministry of Public Security
Zhou Yongkang and the Ministry of Public Security appear primed for a demotion. Is Kim Jong-un losing his strongest supporter in Beijing? Nathan Beauchamp-Mustafaga unpacks the story.
Chinese Bureaucratic Politics and Sino-North Korean Relations: Dynamics and Implications
Beijing University’s Nathan Beauchamp-Mustafaga contends that Chinese bureaucratic politics largely drives the direction of the Sino-North Korean relationship.
Korean Peninsula: Distinguishing Rhetoric from Reality
Roger Cavazos examines what a renewed outbreak of hostilities would actually look like along the arms-clogged waist of the Korean peninsula. Includes link to an extensive illustrated working paper.
