Jaewoo Jun (Reseach Fellow, KIDA) probes China's strategic intention to emerge as a "polar great power" through the construction of the "Polar Silk Road" and addresses the geopolitical shifts triggered in the Arctic region. The author diagnoses that the melting Arctic caused by climate change is shifting the center of gravity of U.S. security strat...

Won Gon Park, Chair of the North Korea Research Center at EAI (and Professor at Ewha Womans University), analyzes the military and diplomatic benefits that the Russia-Ukraine war has provided for North Korea-Russia cooperation, along with the underlying structural constraints. Chair Park notes that despite achievements such as the accumulation of c...

Ji-young Choi (Research Fellow, KINU) provides an in-depth analysis of the economic crisis North Korea faced from 2021 to 2025 and the regime's policy responses to these challenges. The author highlights that while the current crisis resembles the shocks of the 1990s, the regime employed differentiated strategies this time: responding immediately a...

Sung-ho Jung (Professor, Incheon National University) provides an in-depth analysis of how North Korea's 'Five-Year Plan for National Economic Development as revealed through the decisions of the Plenary Meetings of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea. The author traces the dynamic evolution of policy stances by categorizing the ti...

Kyoochul Kim, Fellow at the Korea Development Institute (KDI), analyzes the economic cooperation between North Korea and Russia following the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine War. The author observes that while the scale of economic collaboration between the two nations has increased, its overall volume and effectiveness remain limited. Additionally,...

Jung-jin Park (Professor, Tsuda University) addresses North Korea's economic and security achievements and limitations as its 'Five-Year National Economic Development Plan' concludes in 2025, while forecasting the new foreign policy directions to be unveiled at the 9th Party Congress in 2026. In particular, he provides an in-depth assessment of the...

Leif-Eric Easley, Professor at Ewha Womans University, provides an in-depth analysis of the complex diplomatic implications surrounding the first visit by a top Vietnamese leader to North Korea in 18 years. The author cautions against viewing this meeting merely as a resurgence of the socialist bloc, instead framing it as a component of Vietnam’s...

Seunghee Ha, Professor at Dongguk University, has analyzed that the lyrics of recent North Korean songs have shifted from 'our country' to 'my country'. She interprets this as a result of a change in strategy by the North Korean authorities, who now appeal to individuals' emotions rather than to their sense of loyalty through collective slogans. Ho...

Kyung-young Chung, Professor at Hanyang University, assesses that while the ROK–U.S. alliance has contributed to deterring war, it has revealed limitations in deterring North Korea’s repeated local provocations. To overcome these shortcomings, he proposes unifying crisis-management authority through the transition of Wartime Operational Control...

Ho Ryung Lee, Senior Research Fellow at KIDA, analyzes the achievements of the 8th Congress of the North Korea’s Workers' Party and forecasts the 9th Congress. The author identifies the greatest achievements of the 8th Congress as national defense (enhancement of nuclear and missile capabilities) and diplomacy (strengthening the North Korea-China...