Quality. Independence. Impact.

Home | Contact Us | Media Resources

Saturday November 21, 2009

Welcome   |   Register   |   Log in

North Korea

RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY

Save to My PortfolioNorth Korea's Nuclear Bargain

Richard C. Bush III, May 26, 2009, The Daily Beast

North Korea's Nuclear BargainAs North Korea continues to challenge the international community with its nuclear ambitions, Richard Bush examines Kim Jong Il's reasoning behind the nuclear test.  Bush argues that North Korea's latest provocation is an attempt to frame de-nuclearization negotiations on the most favorable terms by putting the Obama administration on the defensive. Read More

North Korea, Nuclear Weapons, Northeast Asia, Nonproliferation, National Security Council

PAST EVENT

Save to My PortfolioThe Hidden People of North Korea: Everyday Life in the Hermit Kingdom

Tuesday, November 10, 2009
10:00 AM to 11:30 AM
Washington, DC

On November 10, Brookings Nonresident Senior Fellow Kongdan Oh and Ralph Hassig, adjunct associate professor of psychology at the University of Maryland University College, discussed their new book The Hidden People of North Korea: Everyday Life in the Hermit Kingdom (Rowman & Littlefield, 2009). For decades, the people of North Korea have lived in extreme isolation under a closed and repressive regime, where individual rights are restricted and the regime exercises complete control over the political class and legal systems. Read More

North Korea, Human Rights, Civil Liberties, Northeast Asia, Quality-of-Life Issues

PAST EVENT

Save to My PortfolioAfter Kim Jong-il: Can We Hope for Better Human Rights Protection in North Korea?

Tuesday, October 27, 2009
2:30 PM to 4:00 PM
Washington, DC

After Kim Jong-il: Can We Hope for Better Human Rights Protection in North Korea?On October 27, the Center for Northeast Asian Policy Studies hosted a presentation by Kim Kwangjin of his report on North Korean succession and human rights issues. Mr. Kim defected from North Korea in 2003, and was previously manager of North Korea’s Northeast Asia Bank in Singapore and representative of the Korea National Insurance Corporation. This discussion also featured Roberta Cohen of Brookings and Bruce Klingner of the Heritage Foundation. Read More

North Korea, Human Rights, Civil Liberties

RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY

Save to My PortfolioA Proposal for a "Bosworth Process" with North Korea: Denuclearization and Beyond

Sun-won Park, October 13, 2009, The Brookings Institution

After months of provocations by North Korea, conditions are now developing that should allow the U.S. Special Envoy, Stephen Bosworth, to visit Pyongyang. In this paper, Brookings Visiting Fellow Sun-won Park calls for a "Bosworth Process," a plan to achieve not only denuclearization of the Korean peninsula but also to bring North Korea into the international community in a far-sighted and peaceful way. Read More

North Korea, Nuclear Weapons, Nonproliferation, Foreign Policy

RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY

Save to My PortfolioRegional Multilateralism in Asia and the Korean Question

Wonhyuk Lim, August 24, 2009, The Brookings Institution

Regional Multilateralism in Asia and the Korean QuestionThe Korean peninsula served as the battleground for an internationalized civil war from 1950-1953. Over a half-century later, the peninsula is still divided and the Korean question remains unresolved. In this CNAPS visiting fellow working paper, Wonhyuk Lim writes that placing Korean unification within the broader context of regional integration in Asia may be an effective geopolitical strategy for the Korean nation. Read More

Asia, International Relations, South Korea, North Korea, Northeast Asia

PAST EVENT

Save to My PortfolioThe Scouting Report: Dialing Down North Korea’s Nuclear Threat

Wednesday, August 05, 2009
12:30 PM to 1:30 PM
Washington, DC

The Scouting Report: Dialing Down North Korea’s Nuclear ThreatFormer President Bill Clinton traveled to Pyongyang for a surprise meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il on Tuesday, and secured the release of two American reporters detained since March. This visit came at a tense time following North Korean nuclear and ballistic missile tests in the past months. Brookings expert Richard Bush and Politico's Fred Barbash took questions on the North Korea nuclear problem in this week’s edition of the Scouting Report. Read More

North Korea, Nuclear Weapons

RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY

Save to My PortfolioDevelopments in Iran and North Korea

Martin S. Indyk, August 05, 2009, MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell Reports

Martin Indyk joined Andrea Mitchell to discuss the inauguration of Mahmoud Ahmedinejad to a second term as president of Iran. Indyk and Mitchell also spoke about former President Bill Clinton’s trip to North Korea, in which he secured a pardon for two U.S. journalists being held by the government. Read More

Foreign Policy, Iran, North Korea, International Relations

RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY

Save to My PortfolioKim Jong Il Pardons Journalists During Bill Clinton Visit

Dennis Wilder, August 04, 2009, PBS' NewsHour

Kim Jong Il Pardons Journalists During Bill Clinton Visit Following a surprise meeting with former President Bill Clinton, North Korean leader Kim Jong Il pardoned two jailed American journalists. Dennis Wilder joined other experts on PBS' NewsHour to examine the implications of the meeting. Read More

North Korea, International Relations, Foreign Policy, Nuclear Weapons, Sanctions

RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY

Save to My PortfolioPressing Pyongyang on Rights

Roberta Cohen, July 31, 2009, The Washington Post

Pressing Pyongyang on RightsThe now-defunct six-party talks in which the U.S., South Korea, Japan, Russia, and China participated focused almost exclusively on North Korea's nuclear weapons program. But, as Roberta Cohen argues, with a struggle for succession underway in Pyongyang and some of the country's internal controls reportedly beginning to erode, it's the time to rethink the near-exclusion of human rights from the U.S.-North Korean dialogue. Read More

North Korea, Human Rights, Northeast Asia, Asia, Diplomacy

RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY

Save to My PortfolioRaising Human Rights with North Korea

Roberta Cohen, July 23, 2009, Council on Foreign Relations

Raising Human Rights with North KoreaThe U.S. government's policies toward North Korea in recent years have drawn criticism for focusing primarily on denuclearization, while neglecting human rights issues, even as the country's human rights situation remains dire. Roberta Cohen says arguments against including human rights in discussions with North Korea are flawed and recommends integrating human rights as part of an overall U.S. policy toward North Korea. Read More

North Korea, Human Rights, Asia, Northeast Asia, United Nations

RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY

Save to My PortfolioA New North Korea Strategy

Michael E. O'Hanlon and Stephen J. Solarz , June 24, 2009, USA Today

Michael O'Hanlon and Stephen Solarz write that with China’s lead—and U.S. support—Pyongyang could be brought to its knees and given the choice of watching its economy collapse or giving up nuclear weapons. Read More

North Korea, China, Nuclear Weapons, Sanctions, Asia

RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY

Save to My PortfolioNorth Korea’s Nuclear and Missile Tests and the Six-Party Talks: Where Do We Go From Here?

Richard C. Bush III, June 17, 2009, House Subcommittees on Asia, the Pacific and the Global Environment and on Terrorism, Nonproliferation and Trade

In testimony before Congress on June 17, senior fellow and CNAPS director Richard Bush described how North Korea’s recent nuclear and missile tests have transformed the challenge faced by the international system. Dr. Bush testified that it is now clear that North Korea bases its security on nuclear weapons, and the hope that it will abandon the nuclear option has disappeared. Read More

North Korea, Northeast Asia, Nuclear Weapons, Sanctions, United Nations

RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY

Save to My PortfolioObama, South Korean President Criticize North Korea's Actions

Dennis Wilder, June 16, 2009, PBS' NewsHour

Dennis Wilder joined Gwen Ifill to discuss President Obama and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak meeting about recent provocations in the latest round of the ongoing diplomatic standoff with North Korea. Read More

North Korea, South Korea, Nuclear Weapons, Diplomacy, International Relations

RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY

Save to My PortfolioNorth Korea Collapse Scenarios

Michael E. O'Hanlon, June 09, 2009, The Brookings Institution

North Korea Collapse ScenariosIraq and Afghanistan continue to pre-occupy U.S. military planners. But North Korea, with its growing nuclear arsenal, would become America's paramount security challenge if the state were to collapse. Michael O’Hanlon writes that the United States and other nations must begin detailed and coordinated planning for stabilization in the event of collapse of the North Korean state. Read More

North Korea, Nuclear Weapons, U.S. Military, China, South Korea

RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY

Save to My PortfolioIt is China that Holds the Key to North Korea

Dennis Wilder, June 04, 2009, Financial Times

In recent months, North Korea has unabashedly plowed forward with the development of its nuclear program, an action that threatens to erode regional stability in Northeast Asia. Dennis Wilder examines the role of China in reducing the North Korean threat and explores the causes, pointing to necessary limits of China’s calculated caution toward North Korea. Read More

North Korea, China, Nuclear Weapons, Asia, Northeast Asia

In Brief

Shut off from the rest of the world, North Korea has a weak economy and a repressive political system. Its recent missile launches and second test of a nuclear device—believed to be larger than the one conducted in 2006— has once again brought the international community's attention to North Korea's continued effort to develop nuclear weapons. Brookings experts analyze the political situation in Pyongyang and strategies for containing its nuclear ambitions.

Featured Experts

Richard C. Bush III

Richard C. Bush III

Director, Center for Northeast Asian Policy Studies
The Michael H. Armacost Chair

Richard Bush’s two-decade public service career spans Congress, the intelligence community and the U.S. State Department. He currently focuses on China-Taiwan relations, U.S.-China relations, the Korean peninsula and Japan’s security. He is the author of, among other works, A War Like No Other: The Truth About China's Challenge to America, Untying the Knot: Making Peace in the Taiwan Strait , and At Cross Purposes: U.S.-Taiwan Relations Since 1942.
Read More

Michael E. O'Hanlon

Michael E. O'Hanlon

Director of Research and Senior Fellow, Foreign Policy
The Sydney Stein, Jr. Chair

Michael O’Hanlon specializes in U.S. national security policy. He is senior author of the Iraq Index. A former defense budget analyst who advised members of Congress on military spending, he specializes in Iraq, North Korea, homeland security, the use of military force and other defense issues.
Read More

View All Experts on North Korea »

Advanced Search | Tips

My Portfolio

My New Content

View suggested content based on items you have saved to your Portfolio.
Log in or register now

Related Topics

View All Topics »

Related Initiatives

View All Initiatives »

Q&A with Richard Bush III

Obama's Response to North Korea's Nuclear Test

"It's ... very important for the Obama administration to maintain the united front that exists among the the United States, China, South Korea, Japan and Russia. North Korea is very good at driving wedges amongst these five powers."

View Larger

Spotlight

TopicEducation

The economic and political well-being of any society requires a well-educated citizenry. Brookings’s work extends beyond the K-12 bookends to include pre-school interventions, higher education and the challenges of education in developing countries.

ExpertFederiga Bindi

Federiga Bindi is a leading expert on European political integration. She has a broad experience in government and held a number of posts in international organizations. Bindi currently serves as an advisor to the Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs. Her research focuses on the EU, transatlantic relations; EU states foreign policies, global governance issues.

ExpertMwangi S. Kimenyi

Mwangi S. Kimenyi is a senior fellow with the Africa Growth Initiative. He focuses on Africa's development, including institutions for economic growth, the political economy, and private sector development.

TopicHealth Care

Brookings is committed to producing innovative policy solutions to our nation’s most difficult challenges. The country may face no more important domestic policy challenge than the much-needed reform of our health care system. Through an institution-wide effort, Brookings delivers new ideas and offers policy solutions to improve health care both at home and globally.

Policy CenterCenter on Children and Families

The Center on Children and Families studies policies on the well-being of America's children and their parents and seeks a more effective means of addressing poverty, inequality and lack of opportunity in the United States.

ExpertDomenico Lombardi

As president of the Oxford Institute for Economic Policy, Domenico Lombardi’s work at Brookings focuses on the international financial crisis and the reform of the IMF and the World Bank. He is an expert on G-20 and G8 Summits.

ExpertVanda Felbab-Brown

Vanda Felbab-Brown focuses on the national security implications of illicit economies and strategies for managing them. She is an adjunct professor in the Security Studies Program at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service.

ExpertSuzanne Maloney

Suzanne Maloney studies Iran, the political economy of the Persian Gulf and Middle East energy policy. A former U.S. State Department policy advisor, she has also counseled private companies on Middle East issues.

Research ProjectBrookings-Bern Project on Internal Displacement

The Brookings-Bern Project on Internal Displacement monitors displacement problems worldwide, works with governments, regional bodies, international organizations and civil society to create more effective policies and institutional arrangements for Internally Displaed Persons.

ProgramGovernance Studies

Governance Studies explores political institutions of the United States and other democracies to assess how they govern, how their practices compare and how citizens and public servants can advance sound governance.

Research ProjectLatin America Initiative

The Latin America Initiative provides high-quality, in-depth, and independent research across a range of economic and political issues, and offers policy recommendations aimed at U.S. and Latin American policymakers.

ExpertMark McClellan

Mark McClellan works on promoting high-quality, innovative and affordable health care. Once commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration and administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Dr. McClellan now directs the Engelberg Center for Health Care Reform.

ExpertIsabel V. Sawhill

A nationally known budget expert, Isabel Sawhill focuses on domestic poverty and federal fiscal policy. She is also co-director of the Center on Children and Families at Brookings.

ExpertAmy Liu

Amy Liu is deputy director of the Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program. Her policy studies include economic competitiveness, metropolitan growth and development, governance reforms, urban reinvestment, and social equity.

ExpertTed Gayer

Ted Gayer is the co-director of the Economic Studies program and the Joseph A. Pechman Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution. He conducts research on a variety of economic issues, focusing particularly on public finance, environmental and energy economics, housing, and regulatory policy.

Policy CenterEngelberg Center for Health Care Reform

The Engelberg Center for Health Care Reform provides practical solutions to achieve high-quality, innovative, affordable health care with particular emphasis on identifying opportunities on the national, state and local levels.