...Peter Ward; Benjamin Katzeff Silberstein In this article, we trace the strategy of political control employed in North Korea under Kim Jong Un. Using conceptual tools created in the literature on comparative authoritarianism, we consider the roles of repression, co-optation, coercive distribution...

...Sukhee Han; Mason Richey North Korea’s 2022 was largely a continuation of the political/economic, military, and diplomatic dynamic from 2020–21, but with different accents. Given the path dependence of military/nuclear modernization, domestic political/economic structural constraints...

...Joe Pateman In communist discourse, revisionism denotes a modification of socialist theory and practice that undermines the revolutionary essence of socialism. This article examines the meaning and purpose of North Korea’s anti-revisionism. Each leader has emphasized different aspects of anti...

...Ramon Pacheco Pardo; Yeong Ik Kim Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has had repercussions in regions beyond Europe. One of these regions is Asia, including Northeast Asia. This region is home to China and North Korea, two authoritarian countries often lumped together with Russia as potential threats...

...Suehyun Jung This paper examines the anti-corruption movement initiated by Kim Jong Un, focusing on the increased rent-seeking competition between the elite and the middle class as market mechanisms have developed in North Korea. I examine two hypotheses regarding this program. First, it is focused...

...Sheena Chestnut Greitens; Benjamin Katzeff Silberstein Current scholarship on marketization from below in North Korea emphasizes the increased influence of private actors, and portrays this process as eroding state control. While these accounts are largely accurate, they risk overlooking...

.... They had much to talk about, and hopefully this meeting can be the start to ratcheting down a tense relationship. US foreign policy Biden China North Korea India When the party in power changes in Washington, policy change is expected. Soon after entering the White House, president Joseph...

...Sukhee Han; Dongchan Kim Continuing the trendline of 2020, North Korea’s key priorities in 2021 were to tighten its belt economically and control the COVID-19 pandemic. Those two goals were related. With its healthcare system no match for such a public health crisis, the government continued its...

...Kil Joo Ban North Korea’s asymmetric provocations over the last decades can be classified into two periods: tactical provocations at sea in 1970–1990 and strategic (nuclear) provocations in 2000–2020. What is the logic underlying the North Korean imbroglio? And how does the former period differ...

... of the University of California 2021 US foreign policy Trump China North Korea India TERENCE ROEHRIG The United States and Asia in 2020 Free, Open, and Worried? ABSTRACT In 2020, the United States sought to implement its policy of a Free and Open Indo-Pacific to address the challenge of a rising China...

...John Delury North Korea slogged through 2020 in an effort to maintain public health and state power. Kim Jong Un’s hopes for an economic breakthrough were dashed by the COVID-19 outbreak in neighboring China, which posed an existential threat given the DPRK’s limited healthcare resources. Although...

... with the prospect of North Korea’s denuclearization. North Korea could use its nuclear weapons program, an internal tool designed to promote national security and power, to build up power in both military and economic power networks. Drawing lessons and speculation from the literature on states’ hedging behavior...

...Terence Roehrig Efforts to denuclearize North Korea continue, but it is highly doubtful whether this goal will be reached. An often-expressed fear of a nuclear-armed North Korea is that it might use this capability to coerce reunification with the South on its terms. Though its leaders often speak...

...John Delury This was a year of transition in North Korea, as leader Kim Jong Un held firm to his strategic shift of putting “all efforts” into economic development in the face of ongoing international sanctions. Kim’s summit diplomacy with the US and South Korea stalled, while ties improved...

...Jonathan Holslag The Trump administration’s policy on Asia in 2019 displayed a mix of overreach and fecklessness. In terms of economic, strategic, and cooperative relations, the US floundered, stumbled, and fell short, particularly in its efforts to deal with China and North Korea. Overall...

...Gi-Wook Shin; Rennie J. Moon Kim Jong-un showcased a series of summit meetings throughout 2018, including the first-ever meeting of a North Korean leader with a sitting US president. North Korea improved its strained relations with China and South Korea. The country’s denuclearization has yet...

... global economy, even as his own continued to slow incrementally amid the widening trade war with the US. © 2019 by The Regents of the University of California 2019 China great power Xi Jinping corruption trade war North Korea SHAUN BRESLIN China in 2018 Presidents, Politics, and Power...

...Robert Sutter A summit with North Korea’s leader in June saw President Trump greatly ease regional tensions created by his earlier maximum pressure policy against North Korea’s nuclear weapons program. He also launched punitive tariffs to change trading relations to US benefit, with adverse impact...

...Pyungse Cho; Jae-Cheon Lim This paper examines the determinants of North Korea’s foreign policymaking to show why denuclearization efforts continue to fail to curb, let alone end, its nuclear weapons program. Two determinants, namely South Korea’s existential threat and North Korea’s juche ideology...

... national security strategy, released in December, provided a well-integrated security, economic, and diplomatic strategy for Asia and the rest of the world. © 2018 by The Regents of the University of California 2018 Donald Trump United States North Korea China trade ROBERT SUTTER The United...