Arms Sales to Russia and Trade With China Drive North Korea’s Economic Recovery
North Korea’s economy grew 3.5 percent in 2025, the third straight year above 3 percent, according to the Bank of Korea (Figure 1). Output has now passed its…
Congress Supports Action for Human Rights in North Korea But Still Does Not Act
Congress will be in session for roughly four weeks from Labor Day to the end of September, with an overcrowded agenda to complete approval of…
Washington’s Cold Peace Is Seoul’s Hot Risk
A negotiated accommodation with a nuclear-armed North Korea may become unavoidable for the United States and South Korea. But an agreement is not the same…
Kim Jong Un Has No Interest in Meeting Donald Trump
Yesterday, President Donald Trump announced he would meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un before the end of the year. While the U.S. president seems certain…
Why Kim and Trump Should Meet
Since U.S. President Donald Trump’s return to the White House, speculation has repeatedly surfaced about a future meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un….
North Korea Doubles Down on Its Alliance With Russia, For Now
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has doubled down on his military and strategic alliance with Vladimir Putin and the Russian regime, betting that this…
After a Decade, the North Korea Travel Ban Needs a Second Look
For the tenth consecutive year, the U.S. Department of State has renewed its ban on Americans traveling to North Korea, extending the prohibition through August…
A New Risk Calculus for the Korean Peninsula
State-sanctioned violence and militarism form the foundation of the rejuvenated North Korea-Russia partnership, and that should shape how U.S. and South Korean alliance planners read…
Iran’s Bargaining Card That North Korea Never Had
Last week, the United States and Iran concluded a memorandum of understanding (MOU), ending nearly four months of conflict and bringing the two countries back to the…
North Korea’s New Constitution Buries the Reunification Project
North Korea has amended its constitution to remove references to reunification with South Korea. The Supreme People’s Assembly apparently made the change in March, but it was not publicly known…