FOCUS | THEMATIC | NORTH KOREA
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Strategic Space
Nuclear Brinkmanship at a New Brink
Manpreet Sethi. · 22 Aug, 2025 · #5893 · Commentary
The world commemorated 80 years of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki this August. Across the world, editorials, opinion pieces, activist marches, discussions and other events marked the occasion. On 9 August 2025, as people remembered the ...
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The Foreign Policy Repercussions of South Korea’s Domestic Politics
Dr. Pranamita Baruah Talukdar. · 16 Apr, 2025 · #5888 · Commentary
South Korea plunged into a major political crisis following its now removed president Yoon Suk Yeol’s anachronistic declaration of martial law on 3 December 2024. Although the law was quickly reversed, it caused damage to South Korea’s image as a ...
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East Asia Compass
Trump 2.0 and East Asia
Dr Sandip Kumar Mishra. · 31 Mar, 2025 · #5887 · Commentary
Trump 2.0’s seemingly unpredictable and disruptive policies and actions have caused visible anxiety in East Asia among both allies and rivals of the US. Trump has begun implementing a reciprocal tariff plan without any consideration for friends and ...
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East Asia Compass
Alliance-Making: The Meaning of Putin’s Visit to North Korea
Dr Sandip Kumar Mishra. · 27 Jun, 2024 · #5877 · Commentary
Russian President Vladimir Putin visited North Korea after a gap of 24 years, on 19 June 2024. On his last historic visit in 2000, Russia and North Korea signed a Treaty of Friendship, Good Neighbourliness and Cooperation, which was a version of thei ...
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East Asia Compass
North Korea-Japan Talks and Pyongyang’s Creative Diplomacy
Dr Sandip Kumar Mishra. · 14 Mar, 2024 · #5871 · Commentary
North Korea sometimes makes strange gestures that force others to speculate about the intent. In one such move, Pyongyang, which has so far refused to engage in talks with the US and South Korea, suddenly expressed interest in a summit meeting with J ...
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East Asia Compass
Why was Kim Jong-un in Russia?
Dr Sandip Kumar Mishra. · 09 Oct, 2023 · #5861 · Commentary
It was a bit surprising that the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s first foreign visit after the pandemic was to Russia, on 10 September 2023. His visit may be considered symbolic of his prioritisation, with Russia appearing to be more important th ...
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East Asia Compass
US, Japan, and South Korea at Camp David: The Implications of Trilateral Summitry
Dr Sandip Kumar Mishra. · 18 Aug, 2023 · #5858 · Commentary
The trilateral meeting between US President Joe Biden,
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, and South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol,
at Camp David on 18 August 2023, is being considered “historic.” It is the first standalone summit between t ...
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On Balance: Offensive and Defensive Missile Capabilities on the Korean Peninsula
Viraj Lohia. · 14 Jul, 2023 · #5856 · Commentary
On
31 May 2023, North Korea launched
Pyongyang’s first spy satellite. The launch failed when the rocket crashed into
the Yellow Sea, after veering towards South Korea. Seoul called the exercise a
“grave provocation.” Washington and Tokyo
a ...
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East Asia Compass
US-South Korea: Old Allies; New Commitments
Dr Sandip Kumar Mishra. · 22 Jun, 2023 · #5853 · Commentary
South
Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol made a six-day state visit to the US in April
2023, to mark the 70th anniversary of South Korea’s alliance with
the US. The Mutual Defense Treaty between the two countries has been the
backbone of South Kore ...
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East Asia Compass
South Korea’s Nuclear Turn: Propellers and Prospects
Dr Sandip Kumar Mishra. · 10 Feb, 2023 · #5842 · Commentary
South Korean
President Yoon Suk-yeol said on 11 January 2023 that if North Korea’s nuclear
threats became out of control, his country could acquire
its own nuclear weapons. He even said that given South Korea’s technological
ability, becoming ...
