North Korea-Russia relations

There are signs that Beijing is growing frustrated with Pyongyang – including the reported arrest of a North Korean spy in Shenyang, China.

History suggests we should pay close attention to such official pronouncements – not just actions – in North Korea-Russia relations. 

Neither Trump nor Putin has much incentive to address the North Korea issue, but leaving it off the table risks putting the nail in the coffin of the U.N.'s nonproliferation efforts.

It is high time to improve North Korea-U.S. relations, and the U.S. president-elect is uniquely positioned to do so.

A second Trump administration is likely to find engaging North Korea more complex this time, thanks to drastically reduced leverage.

Insights from Rachel Minyoung Lee.

For North Korea, Russia acts as a counterbalance to China in what appears to be an imitation of the diplomacy of Kim Jong Un’s grandfather.

Maxim Ryzhenkov’s meeting with North Korean officials will likely center on establishing trilateral North Korea-Belarus-Russia partnerships.

In the end, enhanced Russia-North Korea ties should not come as a surprise.

We are witnessing a steady return to a web of relations previously regarded as normal after a recent, somewhat exceptional 30-year period.

For North Korea’s military-industrial complex, collaboration with Russia creates a self-perpetuating cycle.

Despite Seoul and Washington’s growing fear of the strengthened ties between Russia and North Korea, there is no need to rule out diplomacy and denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula.