Hyun-wook Kim, Professor at Korean National Diplomatic Academy, assesses that North Korea is advocating a new Cold War discourse to strengthen its strategic solidarity with China. However, the intensified Cold War dynamic would lead the United States to prioritize its strategic competition with China, and the Biden administration should turn to a m...

Dr. Douglas H. Paal, a Distinguished Fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, shares his assessments of the outcome and the implications of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and the 14th National People’s Congress (NPC). In this second part of the Global NK Interview, ...

Dr. Douglas H. Paal, a Distinguished Fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, shares his assessments of the outcome and the implications of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and the 14th National People’s Congress (NPC). In this first part of the Global NK interview, D...

Won Gon Park, Chair of the EAI Center for North Korean Studies (Professor at Ewha Womans University), argues that North Korea utilizes its “new Cold War” rhetoric for two objectives: 1) to criticize US military buildup and its DPRK policy, and 2) to enhance the legitimacy of its possession of nuclear weapons by exploiting the geopolitical compe...

Kyung-Joo Jeon, a research fellow at the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses, predicts that the Korean peninsula might repeat the days of fire and fury in 2017 this year. North Korea will likely turn to its military provocation tactics ahead of the ROK-US Freedom Shield Exercises in mid-March, DPRK’s 70th Anniversary of The Day of Victory in the...

Dong Ryul Lee, Chair of the China Research Center at EAI (Professor at Dongduk Women’s University), highlights that although China and North Korea might seem to have a close relationship, Beijing maintains a reserved stance regarding the North’s perspective on its strategic value amid the US-China competition. Professor Lee explains that Xi Jin...

Ambassador Robert King, the former U.S. Special Envoy for North Korean Human Rights Issues, shares his insights about the current living conditions in the DPRK and the DPRK’s attitude toward U.S. efforts to engage in negotiations. In spite of the pandemic that has further limited foreign access to information, he highlights the importance of sate...

In light of the Biden administration’s recent decision to appoint Julie Turner as the Special Envoy for North Korean Human Rights Issues, EAI invited former Ambassador Robert King to share his past experience in the same position. Ambassador King elaborates on the various responsibilities of the Special Envoy for DPRK Human Rights, ranging from c...

North Korea has faced challenges in meeting its energy demands and has struggled with energy shortages for several decades. Addressing the lack of policy discussion on energy engagement with North Korea, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars highlights the need to find potential avenues for future energy cooperation that can reduce t...

Won Gon Park, Chair of the EAI Center for North Korean Studies (Professor at Ewha Womans University) stresses that North Korea's persistence to pursue its nuclear-first line will lead Pyongyang to a severe crisis as the line would cripple its economy while boosting the U.S. efforts to establish enhanced alliance security cooperation based on the co...