Kim Jong-un

Small but Indispensable: South Korea as “Jungjaeja”

By | March 01, 2019

Does South Korea have much room to manoeuvre in the aftermath of the failed Hanoi talks? Yujin Lim looks at the small power as mediator.

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.

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.

Buckling Down in Dandong

By | May 14, 2017

As Xi Jinping waxes poetic at the “One Belt, One Road” summit in Beijing, we investigate messy realities in the the Chinese border city that would be the ideal hub for any North Korean participation.

Kim Jong-un, Jeremy Corbyn, and the Trident Debate

By | July 26, 2016

At a recent Parliamentary debate in London, North Korea was raised time and again as justification for the renewal of Britain’s submarine nuclear deterrent. Adam Cathcart parses what it means for the besieged opposition Labour Party, and peers into shadows of Korean War destruction for the Conservatives.