Issue Briefs

NCNK's Issue Briefs provide concise overviews of policy issues related to North Korea, from Pyongyang's foreign relations to its WMD programs.

Foreign Relations

Sweden's Role on the Korean Peninsula: Protecting Power, Mediator and Peacemaker

China-North Korea Relations

DPRK Diplomatic Relations

An Overview of North Korea-Japan Relations

The U.S., North Korea, and Nuclear Diplomacy

Inter-Korean Relations

Security

Workshop Report: Second Order Threats from North Korea’s Nuclear Weapons Program

Special Report: Potential Sources of Opposition to a U.S. Troop Withdrawal from South Korea

The Northern Limit Line

North Korea's Ballistic Missile Program

North Korea's Nuclear Weapons Program

Human Security

Private Litigation against the North Korean Government: Overview and Policy Implications

Special Report: Market Activities & the Building Blocks of Civil Society in North Korea

U.S.-North Korea Divided Families

Korean War POW/MIA Accounting Efforts

Economic Issues

Special Report: Understanding U.S. and International Sanctions on North Korea

Special Report: North Korea's Shackled Economy (2018)

Special Economic Zones in the DPRK

"Understanding North Korea" Paper Series

The Kims Aren’t Just Looking at Things: What Leadership Events Can Tell Us About North Korean Politics

Tightening the Screws: The Origins and Dynamics of Kim Jong Un's Clampdown on “Capitalist Tendencies”

The Changing Role of Entrepreneurs in Kim Jong Un’s North Korea

Understanding North Korea's Public Messaging: An Introduction

Cyber-hacking as a Means of “Self-reliance”