[뉴스] The ‘Axis of Evil’ Is Overhyped

Speaking at the Aspen Security Forum in July, longtime U.S. intelligence official John McLaughlin described the threat posed by China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia as “the distinguishing characteristic of our world right now.” McLaughlin, the former acting director of the CIA, warned that the United States’ adversaries had “formed a group” and were increasingly cooperating against Washington and its...

[뉴스] China vows to work with North Korea to protect regional stability as tensions with Seoul escalate

China said it will work with North Korea on regional stability amid escalating tensions between Seoul and Pyongyang.

[뉴스] US, South Korea, Japan Seek to Expand Cooperation to Counter China

WASHINGTON — The United States, South Korea and Japan have expanded their security cooperation beyond North Korea with their Indo-Pacific Dialogue, which one expert called a “significant” development aimed at deterring Beijing from escalating threats in the region.

[지리/관광] North Korea: What we know about the world's most isolated country (Paperback)

...of the 1990s, known as the "Arduous March." The analysis also extends outward, dissecting North Korea's formidable military, its destabilizing nuclear program, its sophisticated cyber warfare capabilities, and its fraught foreign relations with China, the United States, and its estranged sibling, South Korea. Ultimately, this work provides an indispensable guide to understanding the forces of change...

[정치/군사] Korea: A New History of South and North

...present day. A small country caught amongst the world’s largest powers—including China, Japan, Russia, and the United States—Korea’s fate has been closely connected to its geography and the strength of its leadership and society. This comprehensive history sheds light on the evolving identities of the two Koreas, explaining the sharp differences between North and South, and prospects for unification.

[학술논문] An Unexpected Link between Export Sanctions and Cyberespionage

...dyad-year cases from 2001 to 2020 shows that countries under export sanctions are more likely to conduct cyberespionage attacks against sanctioning countries during this period. Case studies of North Korea and China further illustrate how export controls can drive cyberespionage. These empirical findings support our hypothesis, suggesting that states may conduct cyberespionage as a means of circumventing...

[학술논문] From Scarcity to Style: Sartorial Hierarchy and Hybridity in Marketizing North Korea

...emerged from the interviews to explain this outcome: first, the lack of China’s cultural appeal; and second, the ambivalent consequences of marketization. While recognizing the quantity of Chinese economic clout, North Koreans did not regard China as a yardstick of quality. Struggling to achieve basic subsistence, the North Korean population held de-politicized and pragmatic outlooks, adopting means...

[학술논문] Korea–Japan Relations in 2025: The Solidification of Security Cooperation and the Fading of History

... to be a shared sense of vulnerability: in addition to the emergent authoritarian triangle of China, Russia, and North Korea, South Korea and Japan faced demands from their longstanding ally, the United States, to rearrange their economic and security arrangements to better accommodate American imperatives. Amid this heightened state of uncertainty and instability, the history issue faded somewhat...

[학술논문] South Korea-United States Relations in 2025: Lee Adjusts to Trump as the U.S.-China Conflict Deepens

.... Lee supported Trump's preferences on trilateral relations with Japan, while Trump supported Lee's desire to re-engage with North Korea. The allies also reaffirmed longstanding commitments such as maintaining U.S. extended deterrence and the U.S. troop presence in Korea. Overall, in 2025, the alliance adapted and grew even stronger.

[학술논문] How Target-State Agency Shapes Geoeconomic Influence: Insights from Sino.North Korean Relations

...using Sino.North Korean relations as a case study. Building on Wigell’s (2016) geoeconomic framework, we incorporate the response strategies of target states to address the framework’s limited consideration of agency. By tracing the evolution of China’s geoeconomic measures toward North Korea since 2009, the study evaluates both the structural constraints on China’s influence and North Korea’s strategic...

[해외] Building a Robust U.S.-ROK Cyber Alliance

...Building a Robust U.S.-ROK Cyber Alliance: A Joint Cyber Resilience Strategy, examines how the United States and South Korea can strengthen bilateral cyber cooperation in response to an increasingly complex and transnational threat environment. As cyber operations from North Korea, China, and Russia grow in scale and sophistication, the report argues that existing approaches are insufficient to ensure...

[해외] Should Japan change its approach to North Korean denuclearization?

...challenges, including North Korea’s advancing nuclear and missile programs, closer military ties between Russia and North Korea, and strengthening military relations between China and Russia. In particular, expanding Russia-North Korea military ties—potentially involving troop deployments and technology transfers—poses a complex security threat that could enhance North Korea’s conventional and strategic...

[해외] China is confronting new realities on the Korean Peninsula

...issues have converged, including North Korea’s further consolidation of its nuclear status after the Ninth Party Congress, the further deepening of Russia-North Korea ties, intensifying U.S.-China competition, the growing institutionalization of U.S.-Japan-South Korean trilateral coordination, and the spillover effects of conflict in the Middle East. For that reason, China’s policy thinking does not begin...

[해외] Pyongyang’s diplomatic calculus in an unstable multipolar order

...effort to stabilize relations with Beijing. China remains North Korea’s most important economic lifeline and diplomatic buffer against international sanctions. Yet the relationship is marked by mutual ambivalence. China views North Korea as both a strategic asset and a liability, while Pyongyang remains wary of overdependence. Consequently, North Korea’s approach can be understood as calibrated engagement—seeking...

[해외] Why Japan and South Korea Won’t Go Nuclear

...South Korea to seek its own nuclear deterrent. Their conjecture is neither surprising nor unprecedented. In the 1970s, for example, South Korea tried unsuccessfully to develop a covert nuclear program in response to concerns about U.S. abandonment. And the security environment has rarely been so uncertain for Seoul and Tokyo as it is today. Both countries face growing nuclear threats. China is in...