Country
North Korea
Kim Jong Un’s Possible Train Trip to Russia
By Kim Tong-hyung and Hyung-jin Kim
The trip could be like his 2019 journey: 20 hours on his armored train.
North Korea Ramps up Arms Sales to Russia, Iran, Syria, and Others
By Seulkee Jang
Pyongyang is selling older weapons in its existing stocks to overseas customers as it replaces the Korean People’s Army’s stockpiles with new weapons.
North Korea Launches Ballistic Missiles After US Flies Bomber During Drills
By Hyung-jin Kim
Hours after the U.S. flew a B-1B bomber to the Korean Peninsula as part of field exercises with South Korea, the North launched two short-range ballistic missiles.
This Week in Asia: August 24, 2023
The Diplomat’s weekly video round-up of Asia news.
North Korea Fails to Launch Reconnaissance Satellite on 2nd Try
By Takahashi Kosuke
It was the second failed launch in three months, but Pyongyang has vowed to try a third time in October.
North Korea Launches Cruise Missiles as US, South Korean Troops Begin Annual Drills
By Hyung-jin Kim
Kim Jong Un reportedly observed the launch of strategic cruise missiles from a patrol vessel.
North Korea is Preparing for a New Round of Weapons Tests, South Korean Spy Agency Says
By Hyung-jin Kim
The National Intelligence Services aid it has detected unusually heavy activities at a North Korean facility that produces solid-fueled intercontinental ballistic missiles and at another site related to liquid-fueled ICBMs.
North Korea Asserts US Soldier Travis King Crossed Border After Becoming Disillusioned With America
By Hyung-jin Kim
North Korea may be reluctant to hold a low-ranked solider like King for long because he won't provide it with high-profile U.S. intelligence.
North Korea’s Kim Orders Sharp Increase in Missile Production, Days Before South Korea-US Drills
By Hyung-jin Kim
Kim Jong Un toured factories producing tactical missiles, mobile launch platforms, armored vehicles, and artillery shells, ordering them to “drastically boost” production capacity.
Dual Neutralization as a Pathway to a Denuclearized Korea
By Heinz Gärtner and Pascal Lottaz
“Finlandization” for the North and “Austriazation” for the South provide a path toward unification – and denuclearization.
China Holds the Key to Halting North Korea’s 7th Nuke Test
By Min-yong Lee
North Korean workers abroad provide a crucial source of funding for the regime's nuclear program – most prominently from China.
How the US SSBN Port Call in Busan Bolsters Extended Deterrence
By Jihoon Yu and Erik French
By announcing the USS Kentucky’s visit to Busan, the U.S. temporarily rendered one of its key assets more vulnerable, showing that it is willing to run risks on behalf of South Korea.