The recent international shipping scandal involving the Chong Chon Gang, a decrepit, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea-flagged (DPRK) cargo ship with a dodgy track record has raised many important questions involving contemporary issues on the international laws of international security, maritime law, human rights, and labor rights. This high-profile incident occurred not long after the […]
In what is often being labeled the “Korean Crisis” or “Korean Missile Crisis” the latest outward displays of military prowess by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) have prompted concerted international efforts on not only strategies of military containment, but of human rights inquiry. Comprehensive investigation into the domestic human rights record of the […]
On Wednesday, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) successfully launched a long-range rocket, in defiance of U.N. resolutions against the DPRK using ballistic missiles. The launch of the missile is said to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the death of former leader Kim Jong Il (December 17) and included a “scientific and technological satellite […]
I wrote yesterday about the ridiculous inconsistency of the Administration’s response first, to the DPRK’s failed launch and second, to the non-response to the Indian Agni V launch shortly thereafter. Well, it seems I’m not alone. Enter Walter Pincus, Columnist for the Washington Post. Writing yesterday in a piece entitled Washington Double-Talk on Nukes, Pincus […]
While the ruckus over the failed DPRK missile test cum-satellite launch continues to linger, another non-NPT country recently followed suit with its own test. But this time, the uproar, well, didn’t happen. Or at least, that’s what the media wish us to believe. Here is what the NYT reported after Thursday’s test: “The United States, […]
Postage stamps commemorating the “successful” delivery into orbit of North Korea’s two satellites, Kwangmyongsong-1 (1998) and Kwangmyongsong-2 (2009) Nearly five months have passed since I last evaluated the situation in North Korea, making predictions and recommendations on how the United States should proceed with the nascent “Kim 3.0.” All those months ago, I argued […]
With the expected launch of a long-range Unha-3 rocket by North Korea in the next couple of days, speculation has turned to whether or not the exercise is a cover for a new ballistic missile test. Space Development Department Deputy Director Ryu Kum Chol explained that “The launch of the Kwangmyongsong 3 satellite is […]
Speaking at a Brookings Institution panel discussion in Washington, DC on Friday (March 2nd), ex-nuclear envoy Dr. Robert Gallucci startled audiences with the admission that he believes use of force may be the only method to ensure Iran’s nuclear program is irrevocably halted. “I have no confidence that any degree of sanctions will actually stop […]
The North Koreans allegedly conducted secret, nearly undetected nuclear tests in 2010. And they almost got away with it. That is, until Lars-Erik De Geer, an atmospheric scientist at the Swedish Defence Research Agency in Stockholm, took a closer look at the monitoring data from Russian and Japanese stations close to North Korea. Reporting in […]
The stockings were hung, the FPA bloggers had written their last posts with care and just settled down for a long winters nap (by DC standards). When out on the 38th parallel there arose such a clatter and what to our wondering eyes appear? North Korea’s little old driver, who was so lively and quick, […]
In a follow up to yesterday’s post, I have come across a piece in Time Magazine by Eben Harrell of Harvard’s Belfer Center. In it, Harrell discusses the thriving nuclear export business Kim John Il established during his reign in which he allegedly provided equipment for fissile materials production and missile technology to countries such […]
With the sudden demise of “Dear Leader” and cult personality/despot Kim Jong Il several days ago, all eyes have turned to his hand-picked successor, Kim Jong Un. While his father had the benefit of nearly twenty years of preparation for his role as megalomaniacal leader, Kim Jong Un has not. This has troubled analysts who […]
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