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Kyung-ae Park (University of British Columbia, who just hosted a long-term delegation of North Koreans) and the Council on Foreign Relations’ Scott Snyder have pulled together a group of leading North Korea watchers, from across the political spectrum, to comment on where the country is headed. North Korea in Transition covers the waterfront, with contributions [...]
The US was quick to announce actions it was taking in compliance with the UNSC Resolution 2087. The Treasury announcement contained one interesting detail and raises a question for policy with respect to China. Ra Ky’ong-Su, one of the designated individuals, is the Tanchon Commerical Bank (TCB) Representative “to Beijing”; similarly Kim Kwang-Il is identified [...]
Elsewhere, we documented the cycles of rhetorical—and actual–escalation that followed the missile tests of 2006 and 2009. We found the 2013 version of this dance to be even more vitriolic than in the past, including threats of direct attacks on the US and South Korea. But we thought it would be worthwhile to briefly sum [...]
When I visited Rason in 1997, I was struck by how fresh the air and how beautiful the night skies were. Given the dearth of outdoor recreational opportunities in northeast Asia, I mused that maybe the North Koreans might be better off in the long-run by preserving the wilderness rather than by developing an industrial park. [...]
Thanks to Roberta Cohen, we were alerted to an interesting passage in John Kerry’s Statement before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Thursday. Kerry reiterated a tough line on Iran, where he noted that the policy of the administration was not containment but prevention. No mention was made of North Korea in the context of [...]
Sometimes propaganda and art blend together in a way that leaves the viewer unable to separate the two forces or discern which is which. Such is the case with the annual Arirang Games in North Korea, the epic gymnastics and synchronized art display that involves as many as 100,000 active participants. This year’s Arirang Games [...]
Yesterday, we noted that North Korea’s vitriolic response to a relatively mild UN resolution seemed almost intentionally designed to block progress with both the US and South Korea. Despite the satellite launch, new administrations in Washington and Seoul provided the opening for some experimentation. It didn’t take long for that prediction to come true. No [...]
North Korea has responded to UNSC Resolution 2087 with an extraordinarily inflammatory statement, issued by the National Defense Commission, directly threatening the United States. The statement is reproduced in its entirety below. It is worthwhile to read what the North Koreans actually say without assuming that it is the opening bid in a game with a [...]
More than a month after North Korea fired a missile in contravention of two existing UNSC resolutions, the Security Council passed UNSC Resolution 2087, condemning the use of ballistic missile technology in launch and saying the “act violated United Nations sanctions, expresses determination to take “significant action” in event country proceeds with further launch.” First, [...]
Vietnam may be uniquely positioned to offer encouragement to North Korea on the issue of economic reform. Since both countries experienced a similar withdrawal of Soviet aid in the 1980s, Vietnam has more successfully reformed its economy, and experienced superior economic performance, as shown above, all the while maintaining control by the communist party. (The [...]
