A Complicated Story: Why the United States Needs A North Korea Roadmap

By | March 27, 2018

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

By | March 06, 2018

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.

Imagining a Sino-US Conflict: Review of Kim Jin-myung’s Novel “US-China War”

By | March 05, 2018

South Korean novelist Kim Jin-myung released the behemoth “US-China War” in December last year. Kim controversially alleges that Washington’s strategic goal may not “merely” be the demolition of the DPRK, but crossing the Yalu to destroy the rising China, too. Robert Lauler reviews this pertinent and testy work of political fiction.

Onward Migration: Why Do North Korean Migrants Leave South Korea?

By | February 26, 2018

Many North Korean migrants seek final destinations beyond South Korea. Why is that? Reflecting upon several years worth of fieldwork in the United Kingdom, Dr. Jay Song shares what she learned about North Korean migrants who migrate onwards.

North Korean Human Rights in the State of the Union

By | January 31, 2018

President Trump used his first State of the Union address to criticize North Korea for its human rights abuses. Trump’s framing contrasts sharply with the somewhat positive messaging coming from Seoul. Leif-Eric Easley compares and contrasts.

North and South Korea Are Talking: Keep Expectations Low

By | January 23, 2018

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?

A Roundtable Review of Hard Target: Sanctions, Inducements, and the Case of North Korea

By | January 15, 2018

In their new book, Hard Target, Stephan Haggard and Marcus Noland concentrate on the nature and underlying factors influencing the effectiveness of sanctions against North Korea; Sino-NK has concentrated on convening a roundtable to review it.

What Inspired DPRK Invective against China?

By | December 19, 2017

Amid new rumors of Chinese preparations for contingencies on the Korean peninsula and more sanctions enforcement, Chinese-North Korean relations seem likely to sour further. Adam Cathcart investigates a key example of North Korean public anger aimed at Beijing.

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