April 13, 2026, by Joseph S. Bermudez Jr., Victor Cha and Jennifer Jun—
Recent imagery shows the completion of a building at Yongbyon, widely believed to be a new uranium enrichment plant... Overview image showing the Radiochemistry Laboratory and new building at Yongbyon, April 2, 2026. Copyright © CNES 2026, Distribution Airbus DS. Image may not be republished without permission. Please contact imagery@csis.org. Satellite imagery from this month…
March 9, 2026, by Joseph S. Bermudez Jr., Victor Cha and Jennifer Jun—
Satellite imagery shows rapid expansion of Russian UAV and UCAV production infrastructure at the Yelabuga Special Economic Zone, with reports suggesting potential North Korean labor involvement... Download Report PDF The Yelabuga drone factory has been identified in open-source reports as a…
March 3, 2026, by Joseph S. Bermudez Jr., Victor Cha and Jennifer Jun—
Recent imagery shows two types of North Korean UAVs at Panghyon Airbase, observed together for the first time at the location... Saebyeol-4 and Saebyeol-9 UAVs at Panghyon Airbase, February 25, 2026. Copyright © 2026 by Vantor. Image may not be republished without permission. Please contact imagery@csis.org. A February 25, 2026, satellite image shows both a...
February 28, 2026, by Victor Cha—
CSIS Korea Chair is producing…
February 13, 2026—
In this episode, Dr. Victor Cha moderated a discussion with Adam Farrar and Igor Khrestin on the recent Coupang investigation, the key elements of Trump’s National Defense Strategy, what that means for South Korea and for any future response to North Korean threats, and more.
February 2, 2026, by Jennifer Jun, Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative and Victor Cha—
The Atlantic Amsterdam, a Chinese platform that was a point of tension between South Korea and China due to its unilateral placement by Beijing in the Provisional Measures Zone (PMZ), arrived at a commercial shipyard in China last week... View of the Atlantic Amsterdam, the Chinese “central integrated management platform” located in the PMZ in October 2022, relocated to Weihai…
February 2, 2026—
Sydney Seiler, Dr. Patrick Cronin, Rachel Minyoung Lee, and Markus Garlauskas discussed North Korea's direction in 2026 and what to expect from Kim Jong Un in terms of the diplomatic front with Moscow, Beijing, the ROK, the U.S., and more... Sydney Seiler, Dr. Patrick Cronin, Rachel Minyoung Lee, and Markus Garlauskas discussed North Korea's direction…
January 28, 2026, by Jennifer Jun, Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative and Victor Cha—
CSIS imagery analysis and AIS data collection finds that China has begun relocating the Atlantic Amsterdam from inside the Provisional Measures Zone (PMZ) on January 27. .. View of the Atlantic Amsterdam, the Chinese “central integrated management platform” for its aquaculture cages, in the…
January 16, 2026—
In this episode, Mr. Sydney Seiler moderated a discussion with Dr. Chansong Lee and Dr. Bee Yun Jo of the Sejong Institute on the overall outlook of the U.S.–South Korea alliance leading up to 2026, including extended deterrence, the Nuclear Consultative Group, the OPCON transfer, shipbuilding, and other strategic issues.
December 15, 2025, by Jennifer Jun, Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative and Victor Cha—
China’s deployment of buoys near the Korea-China PMZ signals expanding monitoring and gray zone pressure in the Yellow Sea (West Sea)... Sources: CSIS Beyond Parallel; Republic of Korea Navy Headquarters Report submitted to the South Korean National Assembly, shared with the press Download Report PDF This...
