May 05, 2024

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Rob York

Rob York

Rob York is director for regional affairs at the Pacific Forum. He previously worked as a production editor for The South China Morning Post and chief editor of NK News. He is also a Ph.D. candidate in Korean history at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

Opinion

A dubious history undergirds claims that North Korea has resolved to go to war

Narrative that US failed to respond to DPRK efforts to normalize ties distorts the picture of Kim Jong Un’s intentions

Rob YorkRob YorkFebruary 23, 2024
Opinion

Kim Jong Un’s foreign policy failures have left the entire peninsula worse off

North Korea had no backup after talks with US collapsed and has not pursued options that could help end its isolation

Rob YorkRob YorkSeptember 1, 2023
Opinion

US policy toward North Korea has not failed

Denuclearizing the DPRK is secondary to the greater goal of preserving South Korea’s democracy and economy

Rob YorkRob YorkDecember 14, 2022
Opinion

Accepting North Korea as a nuclear state is no solution

Dropping demands that DPRK denuclearize will only facilitate its hostile geopolitical ambitions, not peace

Rob YorkRob YorkOctober 20, 2022
Opinion

Why the US should focus less on Iran and more on North Korea nuclear threat

How Washington handles adversaries like Iran, Cuba and Venezuela sends message to Pyongyang and world about its motives

Rob YorkRob YorkOctober 12, 2022
Opinion

The problematic assumptions that cause North Korea predictions to go wrong

Hawks and doves often believe the worst about each other, leading to unrealistic prognostications and poor policy

Rob YorkRob YorkJanuary 21, 2022
Opinion

South Korean conservatives: Right on North Korea, wrong on everything else?

Elections tend to feature progressives who don’t get the DPRK and reactionaries out of step with 21st-century values

Rob YorkRob YorkDecember 22, 2021
Analysis

On North Korea, it’s not just the US that’s using ‘strategic patience’

Biden has prioritized China over the DPRK, and Beijing and Moscow have shown no urgency on denuclearization

Rob YorkRob YorkNovember 25, 2021
Analysis

The implications of North Korea’s tactical nuclear warheads

New capabilities may not radically alter status quo, but experts underscore urgent need for dialogue with Pyongyang

Rob YorkRob YorkOctober 7, 2021
Analysis

Why North Korean arms control is likely to fail, just like denuclearization

North Korea has historically entered into agreements without intending to keep them

Rob YorkRob YorkApril 26, 2021
1 2 3 4 27