February 26, 2020, by Sue Mi Terry—
We are currently at an impasse with North Korea and we are facing dim prospects for the resumption of negotiations. But the chance of resuming negotiations is not zero. The United States can restart negotiations if we are willing to offer maximum sanctions relief in return for something less than the “denuclearization” of North Korea. Dr. Terry testified before the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on East Asia, the Pacific and International Cybersecurity Policy on the state of North Korea policy one year after the U.S.-North Korea summit in Hanoi.
February 26, 2020, by Robert King—
Human Rights is a critical part of U.S. policy toward North Korea. Ambassador King testified before the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on East Asia, the Pacific and International Cybersecurity Policy on the state of North Korea policy one year after the U.S.-North Korea summit in Hanoi.
February 14, 2020, by Joseph Bermudez and Victor Cha—
Satellite imagery acquired on February 14, 2020 shows that the three specialized railcars identified in Beyond Parallel’s report from February 11, 2020 have been moved from west of the Radiochemistry Laboratory to the southern rail yard adjacent to the reported isotope/tritium production facility.
A fourth railcar is present in the latest imagery in addition to the three railcars that were captured in imagery from February 10, 2020.
These railcars have been associated with the movement of radioactive material in the past.
If past practice is any indication, all four cars will leave the Yongbyon facility sometime during the next seven days.
February 11, 2020, by Joseph Bermudez and Victor Cha—
Satellite imagery acquired on February 10, 2020 shows the presence of three specialized railcars that have been associated with the movement of radioactive material in the past. The last observed presence of these railcars by Beyond Parallel was in November 2019.
The size and number of the casks observed on the railcars suggest the outbound shipment of irradiated liquid or solid waste, disassembled but contaminated equipment or, potentially, the movement of fissile materials. A less likely alternative is the inbound shipment of radioactive material.
February 5, 2020, by Victor Cha and Marie DuMond—
Reports of the novel coronavirus 2019-nCoV spreading to regions bordering North Korea could pose a real risk to the North Korean people. Policy debates on North Korea tend to underestimate health as one of the regime’s key vulnerabilities. North Korea’s insecurities about its health system have been evident in its draconian responses to past pandemics including SARS (2002-2003), Middle East respiratory syndrome [MERS] (2012), and Ebola (2018).
January 31, 2020—
This bonus episode comes from CSIS’s Beyond Parallel Living History video series. In this episode, former U.S. ambassador to South Korea Alexander Vershbow reflects on his work to bolster the U.S.-ROK alliance during his post in South Korea. He shares personal accounts of his experience negotiating key policies like the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement and goes on to reveal his “diplomatic secret weapon” to establish rapport with South Korean citizens. Ambassador Vershbow served as U.S. ambassador to South Korea from 2005–2008.
January 31, 2020—
Ambassador Vershbow reflects on his time as the U.S. ambassador to South Korea and the various diplomatic methods he used to negotiate key policies and establish rapport with ROK citizens. .. This Living History interview features an interview with Alexander “Sandy” Vershbow, the former U.S. ambassador to South…
January 27, 2020—
In this episode, Andrew talks with resident North Korea experts Victor Cha and Sue Mi Terry about Bong Joon-ho’s “Parasite.” The Oscar-nominated film offers a candid commentary on income inequality within South Korean society... In this episode, Andrew talks with resident North Korea experts Victor Cha and Sue Mi…
January 22, 2020, by Victor Cha and Dana Kim—
Ri Son-gwon is the newly appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs of North Korea. He is a former military official in the Korean People’s Army (KPA) and the former head of North Korea’s Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Country (CPRC), the bureau in charge of inter-Korean relations.
January 14, 2020, by Joseph Bermudez and Victor Cha—
A new facility in Ippul-tong is speculated to be a storage facility for ballistic missile transporter-erector-launchers (TELs), mobile-erector-launchers (MELs), or transporter-erectors (TEs). However, there is no conclusive evidence that the facility is also involved in supporting ballistic missile or weapons development activities.
