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Russia-China-North Korea Relations & Obstacles March 27, 2025

Intel: Russia, Iran, China, & North Korea Dangers U.S. March 26, 2025

America’s four great adversaries — China, Iran, North Korea and Russia — are increasingly acting in unison to undercut US interests, the intelligence community revealed Tuesday. ...

A New Asian Bloc in the Making? March 24, 2025

Senior officials from China, South Korea and Japan will soon meet in Tokyo to try to establish a more formal relationship, replete with security and economic benefits. Informal talks had already been held between China and Japan, so it appears the tw...

U.S.-South Africa Diplomatic Crisis Provides an Opportunity for a New Beginning March 22, 2025

U.S.-South Africa relations sank to a new low last week after the South African ambassador to Washington, Ebrahim Rasool, accused the Trump administration of “supremacy” on four occasions during an online lecture on U.S. foreign policy to a South Afr...

Trump administration

America Should Talk to Hamas About Hostages March 21, 2025

Axios recently reported that Israel’s Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer “lashed out” at U.S. hostage envoy Adam Boehler in a “tense” phone call for negotiating with terror group Hamas for the return of a kidnapped U.S. citizen.In February, the U....

Trump administration

The Fragile Axis of Upheaval March 18, 2025

Even regional wars have geopolitical consequences, and when it comes to Russia’s war on Ukraine, the most important of these has been the formation of a loose entente among China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. Some U.S. national security experts hav...

America’s Retreat Leaves a Leadership Void March 14, 2025

A shouting match with the Ukrainian president on live TV; tariffs hammering allies; talk of annexing Canada; NATO, once a pillar of stability, now caught in a storm of doubt; the U.S. standing with Belarus and North Korea in refusing to condemn Mosco...

North Korea Fires Multiple Ballistic Missiles — Seoul March 10, 2025

A Window Into the DPRK Military March 06, 2025

The direct intervention of North Korea in the Ukraine war represents a test benchmark for the Korea’s People Army, whose battlefield actions are now challenging the traditional Western opinions that have always drawn it as an obsolete and ineffective...

North Korea Sends More Troops to Russia, Redeploys to Kursk Front Line February 27, 2025

Face Reality: North Korea Is a Nuclear Power February 27, 2025

For now, President Trump should seek to freeze, not end, Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons program. ...

China’s Ties With North Korea Are in a Ditch February 20, 2025

One year ago, experts had many reasons to think China and North Korea would become closer than ever before. But that’s not what happened. Instead, Beijing and Pyongyang have become distinctly discordant and discourteous. This gap between the expectat...

'The Unholy Alliance:' China, Iran, Russia, & North Korea February 14, 2025

But it is important that Trump also realize that on the global stage, China and Iran are a package deal with Vladimir Putin’s Russia and Kim Jong Un’s North Korea, and any appeasement or leniency toward any of them would embolden the others. In that ...

Trump Can and Should Save Ukraine February 14, 2025

Trump has been making headway on his campaign promises. From pardoning Jan. 6 rioters, to pulling out of the Paris climate agreement, to threatening tariffs on America’s largest trading partner (and toying with Canada’s sovereignty while he’s at it),...

Seoul’s Crisis: A Test of U.S. Resolve in the Indo-Pacific February 13, 2025

South Korea’s political upheaval, marked by the arrest of President Yoon Suk Yeol, has plunged a critical United States ally into turmoil at a pivotal moment for the Indo-Pacific. With the Biden administration leaving office, the incoming Trump admin...

North Korea Sent Russia 200 Long-Range Artillery Systems, Seoul Says February 11, 2025

Trump the ‘Peacemaker’ Faces Many Obstacles February 11, 2025

But deals with Iran, North Korea, and Ukraine are still very much alive ...

North Korea Criticizes Marco Rubio for Calling It a ‘Rogue State’ February 03, 2025

Defectors Offer Insight Into North Korean Soldiers January 31, 2025

All North Korean recruits are taught a song that includes a verse about saving their last bullet for themselves to avoid capture, one former soldier told NBC News....

North Korea Prepares To Send More Troops to Russia After Casualties January 24, 2025

The U.S., South Korea and Japan Should Work Together January 21, 2025

With Donald Trump’s return to the presidency now a reality, the Indo-Pacific faces an era of heightened uncertainty driven by North Korea’s growing military capabilities and China’s expanding regional influence. In this environment, trilateral securi...

North Korea’s Suicide Soldiers Pose New Challenge for Ukraine January 14, 2025

North Korea Launches Test Missiles Towards East Sea: Seoul January 14, 2025

Who’s Afraid of America First? January 10, 2025

To many countries in Europe, the return of Donald Trump to the White House is seen as a momentous, almost apocalyptic, shift that is likely to disrupt alliances and upend economic relations. Meanwhile, American adversaries such as China, Iran, North ...

Transforming Russia from Spoiler to Pivot Player January 08, 2025

The invasion of Ukraine has underscored Russia’s enduring capacity to disrupt global stability. Yet, as the United States navigates an increasingly competitive geopolitical environment dominated by China’s ascendancy, we must recalibrate our strategy...

North Korea’s Russia Alliance and the Incoming Trump Admin January 07, 2025

North Korea fired a shot across the stern of the outgoing Biden administration by launching a missile during Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit to South Korea. Blinken was in Seoul to affirm U.S. support for its ally despite ongoing political ...

North Korea Fires Missile During Blinken Visit to South January 06, 2025

Can Trump Resolve the North Korea Conundrum? December 17, 2024

Amid a burgeoning partnership between Russia and North Korea, the incoming president has a hard row to hoe. ...

The American University Is Rotting From Within December 13, 2024

The Western world has many enemies – China, Russia, Iran, North Korea – but none is more potentially lethal than its own education system. From the very institutions once renowned for spreading literacy, the Enlightenment and the means of mastering n...

Leveraging Competitive Strategies to Pivot North Korea in the Contest with China December 11, 2024

It is time for the US to shift from its long-standing position demanding North Korean denuclearization and embrace diplomacy underpinned by the framework of competitive strategies pioneered by Andrew Marshall, the founder and long-time leader of the ...

United States Senate

U.S. Opens New Space Base Near Russia, China and North Korea December 04, 2024

South Korea Joins the Great Power Game November 12, 2024

South Korea can no longer let soft power take precedence in its foreign policy. Instead, it must work to deny North Korea any strategic gains internationally. ...

China Should Be Worried About North Korea November 12, 2024

Last month, the White House confirmed that North Korea—a country with few allies and little money—had sent thousands of soldiers to join Russia in its war against Ukraine. ...

What Does Donald Trump’s Win Mean for U.S. Foreign Policy? November 07, 2024

It is time to discuss what a foreign policy under President-elect Donald Trump would mean. First, there are two blazing wars to settle that have no easy answers. Next is the Taiwan question and what to do with China overall. Then we have border secur...

North Korean Troops in Europe Marks Turning Point November 06, 2024

What we need is the political commitment to stay the course for the long haul. ...

Is the Ukraine War Destined To Become a ‘Korean’ War? November 05, 2024

North Korea’s decision to send troops to Russia represents a significant shift in the regional and global geopolitical landscape, with consequences that extend far beyond the Ukraine conflict. While many may focus on the immediate effects in Europe, ...

North Koreans Ukraine: A Game-Changer? November 04, 2024

North Korea’s decision to send 12,000 elite light infantry troops to support Russia in Ukraine signals deepening military ties, though it’s unclear if this will be a game-changer on the battlefield. ...

Is This Our Last Chance To Stop Iran From Going Nuclear? November 02, 2024

When North Korea detonated a nuclear weapon in October of 2006, the world reacted with shock. In retrospect, it’s hard to understand why. They had been pursuing nuclear weapons for at least two decades. Over that time, multiple U.S. administrations a...

North Korean Troops in Kursk Could Backfire on Moscow October 26, 2024

Could give Ukrainians an opportunity to kill many of Kim’s soldiers, damaging the new North Korea-Russia alliance ...

China’s Agents of Chaos October 24, 2024

At a joint press conference in June 2024, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg fretted over the strengthening ties between China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. ...

North Korea Looks ‘Ready for War’ in Ukraine October 24, 2024

Last week, various news outlets reported that North Korea will be sending soldiers to help Russia in its ongoing invasion of Ukraine. The North Koreans have committed at least 11,000 troops, although the number may change depending on their need in t...

Is North Korea Preparing for War? October 24, 2024

If South Korea infringes on North Korean waters, airspace or territory one more time, a senior official in the secretive nation recently warned, an "immediate retaliatory attack will be launched." ...

North Korea Sent 3,000 Troops to Russia for Ukraine War, South Says October 23, 2024

North Korean Arms More Significant Than Troops for Russia October 23, 2024

Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, got to the point in his presidential address last night: “Another state,” he said, was “joining the war against Ukraine”. He was referring to the growing intelligence that shows elite soldiers from North Kore...

North Korea’s Marxist Revival October 21, 2024

Tensions on the Korean peninsula are mounting, with North Korea preparing to dismantle sections of inter-Korean roads and accusing South Korea of drone incursions. These actions reflect Pyongyang’s increasingly hostile stance towards Seoul, which hei...

The Axis of Evil Is a Fantasy October 19, 2024

A terror is stalking Europe. That, at least, is the impression you get from Kyiv. As Andriy Yermak, head of the country’s office of the president proclaimed, a new “axis of evil” is forming right across the planet, developing into a thoroughgoing mil...

North Korea Revises Constitution: South Korea as ‘Hostile State’ October 17, 2024

The Russia-North Korea Alliance October 17, 2024

As tensions flare in the Middle East, with some calling for the destruction of Iran’s nuclear program, two other American adversaries are signaling that they are increasingly prepared to resort to their nuclear arsenals. Russian President Vladimir Pu...

North Korea Says 1.4 Million Apply To Join Army Amid Tensions With South October 16, 2024

U.S., South Korea, Japan Unveil New Team to Monitor North Korea Sanctions October 16, 2024

Today’s Axis of Evil Is Bigger & More Dangerous Than Ever October 16, 2024

Secretary of State Antony Blinken recently expressed mild but potentially consequential confusion regarding the nature and scope of America’s proclaimed enemies. ...

North Korea Is Sending Soldiers to the Russian Front Lines October 15, 2024

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky this week confirmed reports of North Korean troops supporting Russians inside Ukraine, warning that the alliance between Moscow and Pyongyang is growing stronger and evolving beyond transferring weapons. ...

North Korea Accuses South of Flying Drones Over Pyongyang October 12, 2024

Institutionalizing the Axis of Upheaval October 11, 2024

Russia and North Korea’s security pact increases the difficulty of strategic prioritization in Asia. ...

North Korea Wades Into Ukraine October 10, 2024

In mid-September Ukraine struck ammunition depots deep inside the interior of Russia. Ukrainian-manufactured long-range drones hit the cities of Toropets and Tikhoretsk. The general staff of the Ukrainian military assessed that Tihoretsk was the Krem...

North Korea and Iran: The Evil Axis of Missiles October 09, 2024

It should not surprise us that Iran is acquiring technology and ballistic missiles from North Korea. The newly resurgent “Axis of Evil” is alive and well in 2024. ...

China and North Korea Mark 75th Diplomatic Anniversary October 07, 2024

Russia and North Korea: A Long-Term Strategic Partnership October 02, 2024

Moscow-Pyongyang ties amount to much more than a marriage of convenience. ...

There Isn’t Much Hope on North Korea Policy August 21, 2024

The Korean Peninsula, arguably the most heavily militarized region of the world, hasn't seen full-scale conflict since July 27, 1953, when an armistice agreement stopped a three-year war that claimed the lives of millions (including more than 36,000 ...

U.S. and South Korea Hold Joint Air Drills to Counter North Korea August 20, 2024

North Korea’s Kim and Russia’s Putin Vow Deeper Ties August 16, 2024

U.S. Fighting ‘Four Cold Wars’ at the Same Time August 16, 2024

The U.S. is "fighting four different Cold Wars" with China, Iran, Russia and North Korea and needs to come up with ways to cause divisions between them, according to a foreign policy expert. ...

The Case for a More Strategic U.S. Foreign Policy August 15, 2024

As the nation focuses on the coming presidential election, the foreign policy landscape surrounding the United States is in disarray. Israel is bracing for a retaliatory Iranian attack following their killing of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeah...

The U.S. Navy Isn’t Ready for Cold War II August 15, 2024

The United States is engaged in a new Cold War confronting four aggressive and colluding adversaries—China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea—that is more complex and dangerous than the previous Cold War against the Soviet Union. The United States, along...

North Korea’s Kim Oversees Delivery of New Ballistic Missile Launchers August 05, 2024

North Korea Wants To Restart Nuclear Talks if Trump Wins August 01, 2024

Russia’s Gateways into the Indo-Pacific July 26, 2024

In September 2022, after both the invasion of Ukraine and a military takeover in Myanmar, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing met with Russian President Vladimir Putin under the umbrella of the Eastern Economic Forum (an event held in Vladivostok) to expl...

The West Against a ‘Deadly Quartet’ of Global Adversaries July 18, 2024

Last week’s NATO summit which highlighted the threat and “systemic challenges” posed by Russia, China, North Korea and Iran. ...

Blame Donald Trump for North Korea’s Sabre-Rattling July 17, 2024

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Pyongyang in June and North Korea’s announcement this month of tests of new missiles have raised alarms in Washington, rattled America’s allies and threaten to destabilise the Indo-Pacific region. While thi...

Let Seoul Hit back Against North Korea July 16, 2024

North Korea is counting on the United States to restrain South Korea if it conducts a military escalation resulting in the loss of South Korean lives. ...

A Proxy War of Diminishing Geostrategic Returns July 11, 2024

As Western leaders gather in Washington, D.C. for the 75th anniversary of the NATO alliance on July 9-11, 2024, the pressures for deeper American involvement in Ukraine’s War against Russia have continued to build up. The Biden administration, which ...

Trusting the ‘Five Eyes’ Only July 08, 2024

Wherever he travels globally, President Biden has sought to project the United States as the rejuvenated leader of a broad coalition of democratic nations seeking to defend the “rules-based international order” against encroachments by hostile autocr...

U.S. Is Facing a Cohering League of Foes Globally July 05, 2024

There are lies, damn lies and rumors about North Korea. So treat recent reports that Pyongyang will send troops to aid Russia’s assault on Ukraine with more than a grain of salt. ...

North Korea Brags of New Missile With ‘Super-Large Warhead.’ July 02, 2024

A New Strategy for Dealing With Kim Jong-Un July 02, 2024

Since the possibility of war cannot be eliminated, the priority of the ROK-U.S. alliance is to deter war. The additional threat is instability and regime collapse in North Korea. ...

The Uncertain Russia-North Korea Relationship June 28, 2024

Moscow and Pyongyang’s new defense agreement conceals tensions within the bilateral relationship that matter over the long term. ...

Putin’s Russia Stirs up North-South Korea Tensions June 27, 2024

The defense deal signed in Pyongyang last week by Russian President Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un further raised tensions between North and South Korea. ...

South Korea: 350 Waste Balloons Detected From North Korea June 25, 2024

What To Make of the Kim-Putin Meeting? June 24, 2024

What to make of Russian President Vladimir Putin's short stay in North Korea this week, where he greeted North Korean leader Kim Jong Un like a long lost brother and left Pyongyang with what the Russian leader termed a comprehensive strategic partner...

Putin’s High-Risk North Korea Gambit June 24, 2024

The Russian president’s trip to North Korea alters global calculations, spreading instability worldwide. Even China may now be interested in distancing itself from him. ...

Putin’s Overtures a Bid To Intimidate Ukraine’s Allies June 24, 2024

President Vladimir Putin signed a military partnership deal with North Korea and visited U.S. business partner Vietnam this week in an effort to intimidate Ukraine’s Western allies and show that he is not as isolated on the world stage as they would ...

The New 'Axis' Hides Their Differences June 24, 2024

President Vladimir Putin’s recent visit to Pyongyang could create challenges in bilateral relations with Beijing. ...

South Korea Hits Back Against Putin-Xi June 22, 2024

The move may prompt Seoul to give Ukraine more military aid — not less ...

Complicated Geopolitics: A Tale of Three Triangles June 21, 2024

Moscow, Beijing & Pyongyang face off against Washington, Tokyo & Seoul – but don’t forget Beijing, Seoul & Tokyo ...

The New Russia-North Korea Pact June 20, 2024

Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un just signed a new defense pact. Why now? ...

West Asleep at the Dawn of ‘Cold War 2’ June 20, 2024

The Soviet-China partnership at the beginning of Cold War, and the present quasi-alliance between China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea all have much in common. Their overriding goal is to topple the United States. This means that the U.S. cannot simp...

Russia's Putin and North Korea's Kim Sign Mutual Defense Pact June 19, 2024

A Threat Like No Other: Russia-North Korea June 19, 2024

The summit meeting between Russian president Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un presents the greatest threat to U.S. national security since the Korean War. This relationship, deep in history and reinvigorated by the war in Ukraine, u...

Putin’s Visit Could Make North Korea Even Deadlier June 19, 2024

Though it is unlikely that the two leaders will announce specific arms deals, they could upgrade their military relationship to include a Russian pledge to defend North Korea. ...

Putin Vows To Support North Korea Against the United States June 18, 2024

North Korea’s Kim Boasts of ‘Invincible’ Ties With Russia June 12, 2024

It’s Getting Heated—and Filthy—on the Korean Peninsula June 07, 2024

There was a time in the not-so-distant past when the two Koreas, perhaps the world's most bitter adversaries, were actually striking deals with each other and giving one another smiles. ...

South Korea Suspends a Military Deal with North Korea Over Trash Balloons June 05, 2024

North Korea Is Sending More Trash-Carrying Balloons to South Korea June 01, 2024

Can China, Japan, and South Korea Just Get Along? May 31, 2024

In their first trilateral summit since 2019, the three nation's leaders did not address North Korea or Taiwan. But both were in the room. ...

Why Is the North Korea Problem So Hard To Solve? May 31, 2024

The North Korea problem is set to get worse before it gets better. North Korea continues to perfect the reentry technology, targeting capability, and solid-fuel missiles that will dramatically increase the potency and reach of its nuclear weapons, ov...

North Korea Flies Balloons Carrying Trash and Manure Toward South Korea May 30, 2024

Rare Spat Shows China, North Korea Still at Odds on Nuclear Weapons May 30, 2024

Britain Leading Fight Against Axis of Authoritarians May 30, 2024

Giving the keynote speech to the London Defence Conference on May 22, Britain’s Defence Minister Grant Shapps affirmed, again, how the United Kingdom is the leader of the West in fighting the axis of authoritarian states led by Russia and including C...

China, Russia, Iran and North Korea Align Against America May 29, 2024

Setting aside “Axis of Evil,” or its calibrated stepchild “Axis of Upheaval,” what might be a better name for the China-Russia-Iran-North Korea cluster? Consider an acronym—"CRANK,” representing China-Russia-Iran-North Korea. ...

History, Humility, and Wishful Thinking May 18, 2024

Drawing on his extensive experience as a historian and diplomat, Philip Zelikow warns that the United States faces an exceptionally volatile time in global politics and that the period of maximum danger might be in the next one to three years. He hig...

North Korea Test-Fires Missiles May 17, 2024

Kim’s Sister Denies North Korea Has Supplied Weapons to Russia May 17, 2024

The Coming North Korean Crisis May 16, 2024

U.S. President Joe Biden has plenty of foreign policy crises on his hands. ...

Rethinking Western Strategies Towards Russia May 16, 2024

For more than a couple of decades, the Russian Federation has been in the process of reasserting itself as a telluric Eurasian force to be reckoned with, particularly in the post-Soviet space. Although contemporary Russia is far behind the USSR in se...

Don't Lump China, Russia, N. Korea, & Iran Together May 08, 2024

There is a growing consensus that China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran are aligning into a modern Tripartite Pact, prompting calls for the United States to formulate a grand strategy aimed at thwarting this perceived Eurasian coalition. ...

North Korea Threat Sparks Terror Alert May 03, 2024

Major Munitions Transfers From North Korea to Russia March 01, 2024

Why North Korea No Longer Wants To Reunite With the South February 20, 2024

Pyongyang’s policy pivot away from eventual reunification is not mere warmongering but driven by Seoul’s hardened line under Yoon ...

The Next Tripartite Pact? February 20, 2024

North Korea has long been a source of instability, but a new development over the past year threatens to make things even worse: the country is teaming up with Russia. ...

Munich Security Conference, African Union’s Conflict-Laden Agenda February 16, 2024

The Arsenal of Autocracy February 15, 2024

North Korea’s leadership thrives in moments of global upheaval. And as wars rage in the Middle East, Europe, and Africa, Pyongyang has seized its opportunity to spread death and destruction through arms sales. Although the Kim regime has been systema...

North Korea’s Kim Says He Has No Desire for Talks With South Korea February 09, 2024

What North Korea Learned From the Ukraine War February 09, 2024

My biggest fear, and the main reason I am uncomfortable joining the chorus announcing that war is unlikely, is that Kim may have drawn a more disturbing lesson from Ukraine. His pronouncements last year about preemptive nuclear strikes appear to echo...

Precarious Year Ahead for the Korean Peninsula February 07, 2024

It appears that 2024 is going to be a year for greater North Korean provocations, heightened tensions, and increased potential for tactical military clashes along the inter-Korean border....

A New Korean War Is Not Imminent February 03, 2024

The United States should try to mitigate Seoul’s offensive impulses, calm Pyongyang, and take steps to bring back dialogue and negotiation. ...

Kim Jong Un Wants the World To Take His Threat Seriously February 03, 2024

The world once again is trying to parse the stance of North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un. Is Kim positioning his regime to gain from the possibility that former President Donald Trump will return to the White House a year from now – or preparing to st...