Featured Essays
Responsibility Theory: Russian and US Policy Analysis of China’s Role in the Korea Crisis
Anthony Rinna considers how the Kremlin and Washington differ in their views on China’s role in the Korea crisis by looking at Russian and American think tank research.
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.
Symbol and Substance: China’s Scramble for Influence in the Korean Peace Process
Chinese pressure on North Korea during 2017 served to accelerate declining relations between the two. Now, with peace ostensibly looming, China wants to reverse course. Tom Fowdy looks at the challenges faced.
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.
Righter Than You Think: National Security Conservatism and Moon Jae-in
Moon Jae-in’s policy toward the North is not the Sunshine Policy of his progressive forebears. Indeed, South Korean political culture leans conservative, especially regarding national security. Steven Denney and Christopher Green make the case.
The Road to Pyongyang: Inter-Korean Summits and North Korean Media
How were previous inter-Korean summits covered by North Korean media? In part one of a two-part series, Kyle Pope digs into material at the Ministry of Unification’s North Korea Documents Center for answers.
A Complicated Story: Why the United States Needs A North Korea Roadmap
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.
Korean Reunification: Unlikely Despite Olympic Thaw
A lecturer in Finance and Economics at Dongbei University, Tom Eck is skeptical about the inter-Korean thaw of early 2018 for several reasons. Drawing on the German example and public opinion data from the 2017 Unification Perception Survey, he explains why.
North and South Korea Are Talking: Keep Expectations Low
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?
Moon’s Hedging Strategy: Foreign Policy in South Korea
Squeezed between Pyongyang’s nuclear trajectory, Trump and Abe’s enthusiastic pursuit of “maximum pressure,” and THAAD-induced bilateral stress emanating from Beijing, Moon Jae-in is attempting to protect not only the interests of the Republic of Korea, but also its place in the world.
The Short Arm of the Law: Sanctions and North Korean Laborers in Russia
Anthony Rinna examines the stark reality that it is not clear who is available to replace exports of North Korean labor in Russia, making it hard to imagine the Russian government weaning itself off them.
Right of Reply: Kim Jong-un’s Rejoinder to American Threats at the UN General Assembly
Pushing back against an over-reliance on personalist explanations for international conflict, Adam Cathcart retreats into history and some speculation.
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From New York to Dandong: Maximum Pressure
Adam Cathcart | July 23, 2018 -
North Korean Human Rights in the State of the Union
Leif-Eric Easley | January 31, 2018 -
What Inspired DPRK Invective against China?
Adam Cathcart | December 19, 2017
