When the North Korean news service KCNA reported early on the morning of November 16 that Kim Jong Un had visited the test ground of the Academy of Defense Science to supervise the test of a “newly developed ultramodern tactical weapon,” I had the plea …
The market exchange rate between the North Korean won, the Chinese renminbi (RMB), and the US dollar (USD) has looked remarkably stable over the past few years. Particularly striking is its stability during the 18 months of sharp US-DPRK tens …
Apparently concerned that Washington is not taking its warnings seriously, Pyongyang has conveyed through an article in Choson Sinbo, the pro-North Korean newspaper in Japan, what it hopes will be read as a sober exegesis of its recent public crit …
Carefully, on little cat feet, Pyongyang has sent a new warning about the mounting dangers of what it sees as Washington’s “all-take-but-no-give” approach in the aftermath of the US-DPRK Summit in Singapore. As a means of escalating the profile of its …
What: Join The Stimson Center for a unique insight into a private collection of North Korean propaganda posters over the span of 50 years from 1963 to 2013 depicting North Korean domestic initiatives. The reception will be complemented with remarks by …
Published October 31, 2018 / Held December 4, 2018
Pyongyang appears to have made a potentially far-reaching, and possibly internally contentious, decision to put the question of sanctions squarely on the table at exactly the point US-DPRK negotiations are rapidly losing momentum. At first glance, this …
On July 27, South Korea’s Defense Minister Song Young-moo briefed President Moon Jae-in on “Defense Reform 2.0,” an expansive initiative to restructure and modernize Korea’s defense. The Ministry of National Defense (MND) has released seven p …
Dear Mr. Ambassador: A number of articles have recently been written about what a tough job you have and that if you fail, the result could be nuclear war. We at 38 North, some of whom have worked on policy towards North Korea both inside and outside t …
In what appears to be an authoritative-level article in Rodong Sinmun on September 15, Pyongyang has strongly reasserted its commitment to a new relationship with the US and to the process of denuclearization.[1] Cast as criticism of “US …
On September 6, 2018, North Korean media reported what amounts to a new formulation on the nuclear issue from Kim Jong Un: “Noting that it is our fixed stand and his will to completely remove the danger of armed conflict and horror of war from the Kore …
Kim Jong Un is in the midst of a complex juggling act. He has to keep at least four crucial, long-term initiatives in the air, and he cannot afford to drop any of them. Roughly speaking, Kim’s concerns seem to be the following: Improving relations with …
A 38 North exclusive with analysis by Joseph S. Bermudez Jr. Commercial satellite imagery from August 3 indicates additional dismantlement activities are ongoing at the Sohae Satellite Launching Station since last observed. At the vertical …
Recent commercial satellite imagery analysis by the Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Middlebury Institute for International Studies, published by The Diplomat, identifies what is suspected to be a uranium enrichment facility in Chollima …
Construction of the new Internet Communication Bureau headquarters (평양인터네트통신국건설) in Pyongyang appears to be near externally complete, more than two years after it first broke ground. The purpose of the agency is unclear, although it appears to be focus …
Pyongyang media managed to mark the July 27 anniversary of the North’s “victory” in the Korean War without a single mention of whom the war was fought against or over whom victory was achieved. The norm over the years has been to tout July 27th as the …
While the press has been full of stories about frustration with North Korea’s lack of rapid follow-through on its denuclearization pledge at the Singapore summit, President Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo are right in saying that the United St …
A 38 North exclusive with analysis by Joseph S. Bermudez Jr. “In an important first step towards fulfilling a commitment made by Kim Jong Un at the June 12 Singapore Summit, new commercial satellite imagery of the Sohae Satellite Launching Station …
To date, assistance for North Korea’s economy has not factored into negotiations between the United States, South Korea and North Korea in any real or meaningful way. South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in handed Kim Jong Un a USB stick with gra …
The July 7 DPRK Foreign Ministry spokesman’s statement appears to be a warning message to the US, carefully tinged with a tone more in sorrow than in anger. Overall, the key formulations are carefully balanced (e.g., frequently noting the tas …
Prior to the Singapore Summit, the biggest news about the DPRK concerned a personnel shuffle of the Korean People’s Army (KPA) High Command.[1] Some of the coverage of these changes, obviously targeted on a general audience, was misleading. Accord …
Was it a success, and where do we go from here? [ . . . ] JENNY TOWN // We still don’t know much To be honest, it is still ambiguous as to what was actually agreed to on a working level. The declaration itself lacks any such detail and only reiterates …
This article is a reprint of Joel Wit’s op-ed originally published in The Atlantic. It is reprinted by 38 North with kind permission. What exactly do the North Koreans mean when they say they’re willing to denuclearize? And how exactly would they …