Despite North Korea’s periodic rise to the top of the world’s news reporting agenda, some media continue to describe North Korea as “unpredictable.” Of course, it is impossible to predict the detailed foreign policy behavior of any country on any given day, and North Korea is no exception. However, when people frequently refer to North Korea’s “unpredictability” it implies they do not know enough about Pyongyang’s worldview, preferences and strategies to understand that the general trend of North Korea’s foreign policy behavior is very predictable. This unfamiliarity even extends to North Korea’s nuclear weapons program, which poses a serious threat