For Immediate Release
May 17, 2018
Contact: Audel Shokohzadeh, [email protected], 202.478.3419
Washington, DC: 38 North, the website devoted to providing informed policy and technical analysis of North Korea, joins the Stimson Center as of June 1, 2018. The 38 North team, led by Joel Wit and Jenny Town, will become an important part the Center’s growing East Asia Program.
“This moment in history on the Korean peninsula demands high-quality, fact-based, informed analysis. 38 North rises above soundbites and provides timely information that is critical to our understanding of one of the most consequential security issues of our time. We could not be more pleased to welcome Joel, Jenny, and the 38 North team,” said Brian Finlay, President and CEO of the Stimson Center.
Established in 2010 by Joel Wit and Jenny Town, 38 North has become an authoritative source for information and analysis on North Korea, harnessing the extensive knowledge and experience of those who have been working most closely on DPRK issues over the past few decades. While 38 North is most known for its monitoring of the North’s WMD program, the site covers broader military, political, economic, social and other developments, helping create a better understanding of how North Korea is evolving over time.
“As the dynamics on the Korean peninsula continue to evolve, we are thrilled to have 38 North bring their expertise and analysis to the Stimson Center,” said Yun Sun and Yuki Tatsumi, co-Directors of the Center’s East Asia Program.
The site features commentary and analysis across the ideological spectrum and utilizes commercial satellite imagery and other tools and technologies to provide cutting-edge analysis. In 2017, it added key affiliated blogs—North Korea Economy Watch, North Korea Leadership Watch, and North Korea Tech—providing a depth of sector-specific knowledge and monitoring of the changing dynamics of North Korea’s domestic and foreign relations.
“Led by Yun Sun, Yuki Tatsumi, and the late Alan Romberg, Stimson has long been a leader in research and analysis of the East Asia region,” said Joel Wit. “Along with Jenny Town and the 38 North team, we look forward to working closely with the Stimson Center to continue to put forward nonpartisan and pragmatic analysis of the Korean peninsula.”
Joel Wit joins the Stimson Center as a Senior Fellow and Director of 38 North. He served at the US State Department as a Senior Advisor to Ambassador Robert L. Gallucci from 1993-1995 and as Coordinator for the U.S.-North Korea Agreed Framework from 1995-1999. Wit has also worked at Washington think-tanks such as the Brookings Institution and the Center for Strategic and International Studies, has published widely on issues related to North Korea and is an internationally-recognized expert on security issues on the Korean peninsula. He holds a Master of International Affairs from Columbia University and BA from Bucknell University.
Jenny Town joins the Center as a Research Analyst and Managing Editor of 38 North. She has extensive experience working on Korean affairs and East Asian regional security issues, and is also a member of the National Committee on North Korea, an Associate Member of the Council of Korean Americans, and an Associate Fellow the Foreign Policy Institute at SAIS. She serves as an expert reviewer for Freedom House’s in the World Index, where she previously worked on the Human Rights in North Korea Project. She holds a Master of International Affairs from Columbia University and BA in East Asian Studies and International Relations from Westmar University.
The Stimson Center is a nonpartisan policy research center working to protect people, preserve the planet, and promote security and prosperity.