Commentary
North Korea-watchers come in all ideological shapes and sizes. We will draw on informed views to give our readers a spectrum of perspectives.
Progressive Pragmatism or Cynicism in Confronting North Korea?
In his inaugural address, President Barack Obama offered the possibility of dialogue to leaders in Iran and North Korea, saying he was “willing to extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.” It was a nice turn of phrase, but things went south pretty quickly. After a long-range missile launch in April 2009, things got ugly. North [...]
The Rocket in Kim Jong Un’s Pocket
The missile we should be worried about isn't the one North Korea is about to launch, it's the much bigger one that's hiding in plain sight. North Korea announced on Tuesday, April 10, that it had completed preparations for this week's satellite launch and a day later started fueling for a test that the United States says raises questions [...]
The DPRK Rocket and Korean Peace
Why would North Korea sacrifice its long-cherished dream of improving relations with the United States for such a trivial thing as “fireworks” for a national holiday? Around the world, people are wracking their brains trying to explain this seemingly sudden “satellite launch” decision, and the theories that have emerged so far can be [...]
Satellites and Missiles: The US-DPRK “Choose Your Own Adventure” Experience
The US-DPRK deal signed last month is a softline message; the Satellite Launch is a hardline one. Washington would do well to ignore the hardline one. In 1962, with the United States and the USSR seemingly spiraling towards nuclear war, Khrushchev and Kennedy engineered history’s most important diplomatic breakthrough. At the height of the [...]
Long Range Missiles Of Any Kind
This commentary was originally posted on Arms Control Wonk on March 16, 2012 and has been reposted on 38 North with permission from the author. The original post can be found here. I have previously noted the importance of reading very, very closely the utterances of the Great Fitzpatrick. Another case in point: On March 15, Mark [...]
Is North Korea Opening? What Might That Mean?
If we have few good answers on North Korea, then maybe we need to refine our questions. Case in point: Is North Korea opening? Articles on this theme are a hardy perennial of the field. I’ve been reading them since at least the 1980s. Back then I was writing them. After my first visit to the DPRK in 1986, one of a series of pieces [...]
