Columns
Columns on the latest North Korea issues from analysts, academics and renowned experts. Views expressed by our columnists are exclusively the authors’ own.
On the border: What it’s like to visit remote islands on North Korea’s doorstep
A new series walks readers through key locations on the inter-Korean border, starting with two islands in the Yellow Sea
North Korea’s troop dispatch to Ukraine is Kim Jong Un’s riskiest decision yet
Fighting in Russia’s war opens a Pandora’s box of dangers, from conflict with ROK to undermining support for regime
How Russia’s manpower dilemma is driving North Korean troop deployment
Moscow needs soldiers for war of attrition but fears backlash to draft, giving Pyongyang an opportunity to capitalize
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
