North Korea
[The Kim family's representation of North Korea as a modern country that has style and nuclear weapons] raises expectations. If you’re an ordinary North Korean and you’re constantly toiling but your expectations are not met, you can’t live this consumerist dream.
Kim Yo Jong is always in the background, kind of lurking in behind her brother [Kim Jong Un] somewhere. She’s not important in her own right, but she’s part of this dynastic rule.
His wife [Ri Sol Ju] enables Kim Jong Un to present a softer side of himself. They are a modern, young, virile couple on the go...This new generation of North Koreans growing up in a nuclear North Korea now associates being assertive with being glamorous. I think it inspires hope.
Major powers and global governance: Megatrends and grand challenges
The path forward for dealing with North Korea
[North Korea has used its nuclear and missile tests to] establish strategic relevance in the region. We can’t underestimate how North Korea was devastated during the Korean War, so the Kim family’s goal is to ensure the country’s survival, but also their own survival. [Their missile program] was for all of those things — deterring the U.S., deterring South Korea, deterring Japan.