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North Korea
In-depth analysis and commentary on North Korea from RUSI publications and experts.
For media inquiries, please call +44 20 7747 2618 or email smueen@rusi.org
RUSI RESEARCH PROGRAMMES ANALYSING NORTH KOREA
North Korea's Nuclear Weapons: Proliferation and Nuclear Policy
China and Region: International Security Studies
Sanctions: Centre for Financial Crime and Security Studies
KEY RUSI PUBLICATIONS
Sanctions
A House Without Foundations: The North Korea Sanctions Regime and its ImplementationTarget Markets: North Korea’s Military Customers in the Sanctions Era
Options for UK
Why the UK Needs to be Thinking Now about a Possible Korean War
"Much of North Korea’s shipping sector is subject to sanctions, but Pyongyang has used a combination of evasion techniques to keep goods flowing. “Any connection on paper to North Korea or North Korean illicit activities may therefore not be immediately obvious to the insurer,” the report said. "
The Morning Risk Report: Insurers Hold a Key to North Korea Sanctions
In The News, 10 July 2018 Tags: Centre for Financial Crime and Security Studies, North Korea, Proliferation and Nuclear Policy
Underwriting Proliferation: Sanctions Evasion, Proliferation Finance and the Insurance Industry
Occasional Papers, 9 July 2018
Emil Dall and Tom Keatinge
This paper seeks to establish the baseline for a discussion on proliferation finance in the (re)insurance sector. The insurance industry can play a vital role in contributing to the successful implementation of international sanctions and wider counter proliferation efforts against North Korea.
Tags: Centre for Financial Crime and Security Studies, Counter-Proliferation Finance, United Nations, North Korea, Proliferation and Nuclear Policy, Sanctions, Proliferation and Nuclear Policy
" “If you knew everything they had, if they were fully committed and if you had unlimited resources, something might be achieved quite rapidly,” says Tom Plant of RUSI, a London think-tank. “But all those conditions are hypothetical.” "
North Korea presents nuclear disarmament’s biggest challenge yet
In The News, 5 July 2018 Tags: United States, North Korea, Proliferation and Nuclear Policy, Proliferation and Nuclear Policy
"“Ultimately, if there is to be a successful settlement between the US and (North) Korea, China has to be involved...“You can’t ignore an enormous power with a land border and a determination to make North Korea its business." "
China scores strategic victory in Trump-Kim summit
In The News, 17 June 2018 Tags: China, North Korea, International Security Studies
"She said: “A face-to-face meeting with an American President is a huge propaganda coup for Mr Kim and the summit could be seen as rewarding their rush to develop nuclear weapons. The North Korean regime is brutal and by smiling and shaking hands with their leaders you give them something which will be played on TV endlessly at home.” "
Donald Trump trolled after footage of president awkwardly saluting North Korean soldier broadcast on state TV
In The News, 15 June 2018 Tags: United States, North Korea, Proliferation and Nuclear Policy, Proliferation and Nuclear Policy
China’s Xi Jinping Will Sleep More Soundly After the Singapore Summit
Commentary, 13 June 2018
Charles Parton
China was absent from the US-North Korea summit, but is a beneficiary of what has emerged from that gathering in Singapore.
Tags: China, United States, North Korea, International Security Studies, Global Security Issues, Proliferation and Nuclear PolicyPages
China’s Xi Jinping Will Sleep More Soundly After the Singapore Summit
Commentary, 13 June 2018Charles Parton
China was absent from the US-North Korea summit, but is a beneficiary of what has emerged from that gathering in Singapore.
China, United States, North Korea, International Security Studies, Global Security Issues, Proliferation and Nuclear Policy
Upstaging Armageddon: Kim Jong-un and the Inter-Korean Summit
Commentary, 27 April 2018Adam Cathcart
When attempting to assess today’s inter-Korean summit, the adage ‘Hope for the best, prepare for the worst’ seems more appropriate than ever.
North Korea, Pacific
Bad Chemistry: A Re-analysis of the Assassination of Kim Jong-un’s Brother
Commentary, 5 April 2018Ryan Henrici
Russia’s alleged use of a nerve agent in an attempted assassination of a former intelligence agent in Salisbury provides a good opportunity to look at North Korea’s capabilities in this field.
North Korea
The Proposed US–North Korea Summit: The Art of the Deal
Commentary, 16 March 2018Cristina Varriale
There has been a flurry of headlines relating to the US, North Korea and Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programmes. However, this time it’s not about a nuclear war, it’s about meetings and dialogue.
United States, North Korea, Proliferation and Nuclear Policy
Another Bite at a 'Hamburger Summit'?
Commentary, 9 March 2018Tom Plant
Stunning news overnight, as US President Donald Trump agreed to an unprecedented summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un by the end of May. Or did he?
United States, North KoreaPages
The North Korean Nuclear Summit
Multimedia, 9 March 2018Tom Plant, Director, Proliferation and Nuclear Policy programme at RUSI on the proposed nuclear summit between North Korea and the US
Tags: United States, North Korea, Proliferation and Nuclear Policy, Proliferation and Nuclear Policy, Pacific
President Trump's Nuclear Button Tweet
Multimedia, 3 January 2018 Tags: United States, North Korea, Proliferation and Nuclear Policy, Proliferation and Nuclear Policy, Pacific
Dealing with the Latest North Korea Missile Threat
Multimedia, 11 August 2017Following a war of words between US President Donald Trump and the Pyongyang regime, are we at risk of escalation? RUSI experts Tom Plant, Cristina Varriale and Emil Dall discuss.
Tags: United States, North Korea, Proliferation and Nuclear Policy, Global Security Issues, Proliferation and Nuclear Policy
Cristina Varriale on the North Korea Missile Tests
Multimedia, 6 July 2017Watch Cristina Varriale, a research analyst at RUSI's Nuclear and Proliferation programme discuss North Korea's latest missile test on BBC World News.
Tags: North Korea, UK Project on Nuclear Issues, Proliferation and Nuclear Policy, Proliferation and Nuclear Policy
The New South Korean President
Multimedia, 12 May 2017On 9 May 2017, South Korea voters elected Moon Jae-in as president. RUSI research analyst Cristina Varriale assesses the policies of the new leader and what this means for relations with North Korea.
Tags: North Korea, Proliferation and Nuclear Policy, PacificPages
Underwriting Proliferation: Sanctions Evasion, Proliferation Finance and the Insurance Industry
Occasional Papers, 9 July 2018Emil Dall and Tom Keatinge
This paper seeks to establish the baseline for a discussion on proliferation finance in the (re)insurance sector. The insurance industry can play a vital role in contributing to the successful...
Centre for Financial Crime and Security Studies, Counter-Proliferation Finance, United Nations, Occasional Papers, North Korea, Proliferation and Nuclear Policy, Sanctions, Proliferation and Nuclear Policy
The Rise of the Chemical Weapon State: From Salisbury to Syria
Newsbrief, 8 June 2018Ryan Henrici
The recent execution of chemical attacks by Moscow, Damascus and Pyongyang for diverse purposes may not only suggest that the prohibitive power of international conventions is now fading away, but...
Newsbrief, North Korea, International Security Studies, Russia, Syria, Global Security Issues, Technology
‘And the Gold Medal Goes to’: Sport Diplomacy in Action at the Winter Olympics
Newsbrief, 23 February 2018J Simon Rofe
In a period of heightened tensions between North and South Korea, the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang represent an opportunity for the disarming power of sport diplomacy to take centre ice.
Newsbrief, North Korea, Global Security Issues, International Institutions
Atomic Outcast: Will North Korea Behave Like A ‘Normal’ Nuclear Power?
RUSI Journal, 19 January 2018Björn Alexander Düben
The nature of North Korea's political system suggests that it might not behave like other nuclear powers.
RUSI Journal, North Korea, Defence Policy, Global Security Issues, Proliferation and Nuclear Policy, Pacific
Book Review: North Korea and Nuclear Weapons: Entering the New Era of Deterrence
RUSI Journal, 15 December 2017Diana Clark Gill
Diana Clark Gill reviews North Korea and Nuclear Weapons: Entering the New Era of Deterrence, edited by Sung Chull Kim and Michael D Cohen.
RUSI Journal, North Korea, Global Security Issues, Proliferation and Nuclear Policy, PacificPages
Preparing for a Second Korean War: RUSI Whitehall Report Launch
Events, 28 September 2017RUSI launched a new report that examines the potential for a second Korean War and the options for the UK to respond to what would be one of the most momentous strategic shocks of the post-Cold War...
North Korea, UK
Professor Liu Ming on Security Challenges of the Korean Peninsula
Events, 20 March 2017Professor Liu Ming will examine what precisely North Korea’s objectives are for its nuclear programme and the options available to the Trump Administration in response.
North Korea, International Security Studies
A New Dimension of UK-Japan Security Cooperation
Conference, 18 March 2016Building on the momentum generated by last year’s UK-Japan Strategic Dialogue, RUSI is delighted to host another conference that will bring together leading British and Japanese defence and security...
China, Third UK-Japan Security Dialogue, Japan, North Korea, International Security Studies, Asia, Global Security Issues, Pacific
Whitehall Paper Launch: Target Markets: North Korea’s Military Customers in the Sanctions Era
Events, 4 February 2016Despite a decade-long UN arms embargo, North Korea continues to export conventional weapons to state and non-state clients around the world, helping sustain its nuclear-weapons and ballistic-missile...
North Korea, Proliferation and Nuclear Policy, Proliferation and Nuclear Policy
"Much of North Korea’s shipping sector is subject to sanctions, but Pyongyang has used a combination of evasion techniques to keep goods flowing. “Any connection on paper to North Korea or North Korean illicit activities may therefore not be immediately obvious to the insurer,” the report said."
The Morning Risk Report: Insurers Hold a Key to North Korea Sanctions
In The News, 10 July 2018 Tags: Centre for Financial Crime and Security Studies, North Korea, Proliferation and Nuclear Policy
"Much of North Korea’s shipping sector is subject to sanctions, but Pyongyang has used a combination of evasion techniques to keep goods flowing. “Any connection on paper to North Korea or North Korean illicit activities may therefore not be immediately obvious to the insurer,” the report said."
The Morning Risk Report: Insurers Hold a Key to North Korea Sanctions
In The News, 10 July 2018 Tags: Centre for Financial Crime and Security Studies, North Korea, Proliferation and Nuclear Policy
" “If you knew everything they had, if they were fully committed and if you had unlimited resources, something might be achieved quite rapidly,” says Tom Plant of RUSI, a London think-tank. “But all those conditions are hypothetical.”"
North Korea presents nuclear disarmament’s biggest challenge yet
In The News, 5 July 2018 Tags: United States, North Korea, Proliferation and Nuclear Policy, Proliferation and Nuclear Policy
"“Ultimately, if there is to be a successful settlement between the US and (North) Korea, China has to be involved...“You can’t ignore an enormous power with a land border and a determination to make North Korea its business.""
China scores strategic victory in Trump-Kim summit
In The News, 17 June 2018 Tags: China, North Korea, International Security Studies
"She said: “A face-to-face meeting with an American President is a huge propaganda coup for Mr Kim and the summit could be seen as rewarding their rush to develop nuclear weapons. The North Korean regime is brutal and by smiling and shaking hands with their leaders you give them something which will be played on TV endlessly at home.”"
Donald Trump trolled after footage of president awkwardly saluting North Korean soldier broadcast on state TV
In The News, 15 June 2018 Tags: United States, North Korea, Proliferation and Nuclear Policy, Proliferation and Nuclear Policy
Modern Deterrence: From Rhetoric to Practice
The Murder of a British Civilian: The Need for Action Against Russia’s Use of Chemical Agents
NATO Round-table