North Korea’s Nuclear Weapons Are a Threat to All Nations
OPINION — The Joint Statement of the Xi Jinping – Vladimir Putin summit expressed concern about the situation on the Korean Peninsula. That was an understatement. North […] More
Archive for ‘North Korea’
After Moscow, What is China’s Next Move?
ANALYSIS/INTERVIEW — Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin ended talks in Moscow this week by declaring that their alliance was driving geopolitical change […] More
U.S. and South Korea Back to Pre-Trump Strategies on North Korea
OPINION — The U.S. and South Korea are returning to a pre-Trump era of detailed military planning and large-scale joint exercises in reaction to North […] More
The U.S. Needs a More Comprehensive Strategy for North Korea
OPINION — In 1991, President George H.W. Bush ordered the withdrawal of all U.S. based tactical nuclear weapons from South Korea. In 1992, South Korea […] More
It’s Time to Accept that North Korea is a Nuclear Power
OPINION — It’s time for the U.S. to drop denuclearization of the Korean peninsula as its goal and begin to deal with North Korea as […] More
Global Leaders to Watch in 2023
OPINION — As President Joe Biden concludes his second year in office, despite many positive foreign-policy achievements, his administration can hardly afford to rest upon […] More
The Hard Road Out of North Korea
BOOK REVIEW: The Hard Road Out: One Woman’s Escape from North Korea By Jihyun Park / HarperNorth Reviewed by Cipher Brief Expert Ambassador Joe DeTrani […] More
It will take the U.S. and China to Defuse the Impasse with North Korea
OPINION (Updated)– On November 2, Pyongyang launched an unprecedented 23 missiles and, on November 3, launched three additional ballistic missiles, that according to Japanese and […] More
Welcome to a more Confident and Desperate North Korea
EXPERT PERSPECTIVE — On September 9th, Kim Jong-un, at a session of the Supreme People’s Assembly, made it officially clear that North Korea will remain […] More
Yoon’s Map to North Korea
EXPERT OPINION — South Korea’s new president, Yoon Suk-yeol, in his Liberation Day speech on August 15, reminded the world that “denuclearization of North Korea […] More
Kim Jong-un Doubles Down on Nuclear Threat
OPINION — It should be crystal clear: North Korea has nuclear weapons not only for defensive deterrence purposes but, according to Kim Jong-un, to respond […] More
April is likely to be a busy month for North Korean Leader Kim Jong-un
EXPERT PERSPECTIVE — On March 24, North Korea successfully launched an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) called the Hwasong-17. The missile flew for 68 minutes and […] More
Ukraine and an Assessment of how a Bad Situation Could Get Much Worse
EXPERT PERSPECTIVE – What we are witnessing in Ukraine is a tragedy that, just a few months ago, many considered unthinkable – no, unimaginable: a […] More
North Korea is Using Time to Perfect its Nuclear and Missile Programs
OPINION — The six missiles North Korea launched in January was a statement — and proof — that North Korea is upgrading its arsenal of missiles to […] More
A More Isolated and Unpredictable North Korea in 2022
This piece from Cipher Brief Expert Ambassador Joe DeTrani was first published in The Washington Times OPINION — Kim Jong Un, during his ten years of authoritarian rule […] More
Biden’s Ravens: Leaders to Watch in 2022
OPINION — As President Joe Biden concludes his first year in office, his administration continues to face numerous national security challenges. According to many, Biden’s […] More
Toward a Meaningful Arms Control Regime
This piece from Cipher Brief Expert Ambassador Joe DeTrani was first published in The Washington Times OPINION — If corrective actions aren’t taken immediately, the […] More
A Dangerous Nuclear Build-Up on the Korean Peninsula
Pulitzer Prize Winning Journalist Walter Pincus is a contributing senior national security columnist at The Cipher Brief. Pincus spent forty years at The Washington Post, writing on […] More
What Concerns Me Most About North Korea’s Latest Nuclear Tests
Cipher Brief Expert Ambassador Joseph DeTrani is former Special envoy for Six Party Talks with North Korea and is former CIA director of East Asia […] More
A Few Alternate Paths to Resuming Negotiations with North Korea
Cipher Brief Ambassador Joseph DeTrani is former Special envoy for Six Party Talks with North Korea and the U.S. Representative to the Korea Energy Development […] More
Where the US-ROK Summit May Lead
Cipher Brief Expert Joseph R. DeTrani served as the special envoy for negotiations with North Korea from 2003-2006 and is the former director of the […] More
The U.S. Position on South Korean Missiles Just Got Interesting
Walter Pincus is a contributing senior national security columnist for The Cipher Brief. He spent forty years at The Washington Post, writing on topics from nuclear […] More
On Nuclear: Iran and North Korea are a Package Deal
Cipher Brief Expert John E. McLaughlin served as Acting Director of Central Intelligence from July to September 2004 and as Deputy Director of Central Intelligence […] More
North Korean Denuclearization is Possible
Cipher Brief Expert Ambassador Joseph DeTrani is former Special envoy for Six Party Talks with North Korea and the U.S. Representative to the Korea Energy […] More