Politics

In the first months of 2013 the leadership transitions in Northeast Asia were completed. After a year in office Kim Jong-un was consolidating his grip on power and clarifying, through…

The countries bordering China are in the forefront in facing the challenge of a widening divide between China and the United States. Others, including those in Parts I and III,…

In April 2013 North Korea was determined to show the world that it was prepared to stop at nothing in order to be accepted as a nuclear power. Instead of…

2012 was a year of leadership transition in China and a presidential election in the United States. At the 18th Congress of China’s Communist Party in November, Hu Jintao passed…

By Nicholas Hamisevicz, Sarah K. Yun, Chad O'Carroll, and Troy Stangarone Last year saw significant changes on the Korean peninsula. While 2011 ended with the surprise death of Kim Jong-il and the beginning of succession to Kim Jong-un, last year also saw Korea become one of only nine nations to surpass $1 trillion in total…

By Luke Herman Updated January 11, 2012. With the passing of Kim Jong-il, North Korea's leadership transition is being formally put into place. Here is a quick abridged graphic highlighting the leadership on the National Defense Commission and the State Party's Political Bureau and Central Military Commission. Below are links to expanded graphics for the…

By Ken E. Gause Three sets of messages have emerged from the North Korean media in the days since Kim Chong-il’s death on December 17. The first two sets of messages are tied to the leadership configuration that is rising up to take over the reins of power, namely Kim Chong-un supported by a collective…

By Sarah K. Yun North Korea’s 2012 New Year Editorial had a few highlights with ample unsharpened messages. The overall objective was to emphasize strength and unity under the new Kim Jung-un leadership. In doing so, however, the editorial portrayed an undertone of crouching inwards with a few sprinkles of the typical rhetoric of criticism…