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October 11, 2024

Columns

Columns on the latest North Korea issues from analysts, academics and renowned experts. Views expressed by our columnists are exclusively the authors’ own.

How US absolutism on North Korean nukes endangers its nonproliferation goals
COLUMN

How US absolutism on North Korean nukes endangers its nonproliferation goals

Refusal to consider anything short of complete denuclearization is increasing pressure on South Korea to go nuclear

How US absolutism on North Korean nukes endangers its nonproliferation goals
Chad O'Carroll
Chad O'Carroll September 18, 2024
Why Yoon’s new plan to unify with North Korea is more politics than policy
COLUMN

Why Yoon’s new plan to unify with North Korea is more politics than policy

Regime change and unification by absorption are unrealistic, suggesting main goal is to appeal to president’s base

Why Yoon’s new plan to unify with North Korea is more politics than policy
Andrei Lankov
Andrei Lankov August 19, 2024
Seoul and Moscow’s war of words over North Korea is all bark and no bite
COLUMN

Seoul and Moscow’s war of words over North Korea is all bark and no bite

Two sides have traded threats around Ukraine war since signing of Putin-Kim defense pact, but both prefer the status quo

Seoul and Moscow’s war of words over North Korea is all bark and no bite
Andrei Lankov
Andrei Lankov August 1, 2024
How rigidly socialist North Korea embraced capitalism, on its own eclectic terms
COLUMN

How rigidly socialist North Korea embraced capitalism, on its own eclectic terms

The DPRK turned to foreign trade companies to earn cash when state agencies failed, sometimes through outlandish schemes

How rigidly socialist North Korea embraced capitalism, on its own eclectic terms
Andrei Lankov
Andrei Lankov July 26, 2024
Don’t believe the hype: Russia-North Korea defense pact won’t upend status quo
COLUMN

Don’t believe the hype: Russia-North Korea defense pact won’t upend status quo

Moscow is an unreliable treaty ally that shirks security promises, and two sides have few ways to expand economic ties

Don’t believe the hype: Russia-North Korea defense pact won’t upend status quo
Andrei Lankov
Andrei Lankov June 25, 2024
The political conditions North Korea needs to successfully subjugate the South
COLUMN

The political conditions North Korea needs to successfully subjugate the South

An invasion may look unlikely for now, but geopolitical changes around peninsula could one day inspire Pyongyang to act

The political conditions North Korea needs to successfully subjugate the South
Andrei Lankov
Andrei Lankov June 10, 2024
Why it’s long past time for a US compromise on North Korea’s nukes
COLUMN

Why it’s long past time for a US compromise on North Korea’s nukes

Demanding denuclearization is a fool’s errand, but arms control through ‘interim steps’ can make the peninsula safer

Why it’s long past time for a US compromise on North Korea’s nukes
Andrei Lankov
Andrei Lankov May 17, 2024
The communist front that North Korea targeted in its unification policy overhaul
COLUMN

The communist front that North Korea targeted in its unification policy overhaul

Fatherland United Democratic Front started as scheme to legitimize communist rule before shifting focus to South Korea

The communist front that North Korea targeted in its unification policy overhaul
Andrei Lankov
Andrei Lankov April 16, 2024
Fears of Trump return shake a Washington that has all but forgotten North Korea
COLUMN

Fears of Trump return shake a Washington that has all but forgotten North Korea

Apathy about DPRK will likely persist if Biden is reelected, but Beltway insiders expect dramatic changes if Trump wins

Fears of Trump return shake a Washington that has all but forgotten North Korea
Andrei Lankov
Andrei Lankov March 6, 2024
By forsaking unification, North Korea also abandoned the South’s radical left
COLUMN

By forsaking unification, North Korea also abandoned the South’s radical left

Policy change has stunned pro-DPRK groups in South Korea, which have long viewed regime as champion of national unity

By forsaking unification, North Korea also abandoned the South’s radical left
Andrei Lankov
Andrei Lankov February 26, 2024
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