North Korea

ON TOPIC

North Korea is a reclusive but threatening state as Pyongyang maintains dictatorial control over the country while at the same time threatens war against South Korea and its ally the United States. Brookings experts examine the young, untested "supreme leader" Kim Jong-un and what his provocations mean for regional stability.

Delegates listen to opening remarks by China's State Councilor Yang Jiechi and U.S. Deputy Secretary of State William Burns (both not pictured) at the Strategic Track Plenary Session of the U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED) at the State Department in Washington (REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst).

Article

China's Challenge to the United States

September 5, 2013, Richard C. Bush III

Richard Bush discusses China’s gradual rise, especially in the Asia Pacific region, and what this means for the United States which has long had a dominant presence in the region.

Recent Activity

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In the News

An accounting of the fate and whereabouts of all of North Korea’s political prisoners, including those missing and those who have died in detention should be of highest priority to the UN commission of inquiry and the entire international community.
August 27, 2013, Roberta Cohen, Democracy Digest
Interview

A Conversation on the U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue

July 3, 2013, Kenneth G. Lieberthal and Eswar Prasad
Interview

Where U.S.-China Relations Are Headed After the Xi-Obama Meetings

June 10, 2013, Cheng Li
Interview | Huanqiu.com

Why There Will Be No Second Korean War

April 24, 2013, Jonathan D. Pollack
In the News

[Kim Jong Un] is trying to show that he has a strategic mind, that the military stands behind him and that no one stands against him.
April 13, 2013, Kongdan Oh, Washington Post
In the News

One has to wonder whether and to what degree the [New York] channel is able to report back fully and frankly on developments in the United States, and also the extent to which the leadership in Pyongyang is actually listening to what the channel is reporting.
April 8, 2013, Evans J.R. Revere, Washington Post
In the News

I hope that when the exercise winds down in a few weeks, they [the North Koreans] will wind down the rhetoric and we will be in a better place than we are now.
April 5, 2013, Evans J.R. Revere, The Guardian (UK)
In the News

I think the steps taken by the Obama administration are prudent and the minimum necessary to send a message to [North Korea] and our allies that we are prepared to defend them.
April 5, 2013, Evans J.R. Revere, The Guardian (UK)
In the News

The danger here is that South Korea, with U.S. moral support, retaliates and then North Korea feels that it needs to counter-retaliate; China doesn’t control it and so it’s a vicious circle.
April 2, 2013, Richard C. Bush III, Washington Times
Interview | Voice of America

Tensions on the Korean Peninsula

April 1, 2013, Evans J.R. Revere