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
Latest North Korea Briefs
Members Only Is it Time for a New Policy Toward North Korea – A Cipher Brief Debate
North Korea’s party Congress, held earlier this month, offered some insight into what Leader Kim Jong Un is thinking when it comes to the country’s […] More
Members Only US National Security Challenges: A Conversation Among Experts
Understanding expert perspective on where the US stands in the world with regards to national security is a key component of how The Cipher Brief […] More
Members Only The New Dynamic Cyber Threat Environment
An attempted cyberattack on Israel’s water system in late April, just months after the global pandemic hit, prompted fears that cyber adversaries are getting even […] More
Members Only OSINT Global Trendline Report: COVID and the Americas
The Cipher Brief’s Open Source Trend Line Report utilizes open source data on a quarterly basis to track trends around the world that impact national and global […] More
What we’re learning about National Security from COVID-19
As of this writing, Johns Hopkins, is reporting more than 432,438 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the US, and nearly 1.5m confirmed cases worldwide. While […] More
Members Only Profile of a Private Sector Intelligence Analyst
Angela Lewis, Manager of Global Intelligence and Threat Analysis Team at The Walt Disney Company \”The Cipher Brief has become the most popular outlet for […] More
Members Only OSINT Global Trendline Report
The Cipher Brief’s Open Source Trend Line Report utilizes open source data on a quarterly basis to track trends around the world that impact national […] More
Members Only Kim Jong Un’s Frustration and the Risk of Hybrid Warfare
EXPERT OPINION — Kim Jong-un is a desperate man. He has long believed that Donald Trump’s unpredictability and their quirky friendship offers him the best, […] More
Members Only The Cipher Brief’s OSINT Trend Line Report
The Cipher Brief’s NEW Open Source Collection Report (OSINT) uses open source data to track trends around the world that impact national and global security. […] More
Members Only A Quiet Agreement Between China and South Korea on Denuclearization
China and South Korea quietly agreed this week to engage in a joint effort to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula. The announcement came on the sidelines […] More
Members Only NGA’s Focus Forward Intelligence Mission
The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency has long relied on a range of technological tools to provide geospatial intelligence (GEOINT) like commercial imaging, remote sensing and human […] More
National Security Science: Earthquake or Nuclear Test?
With ongoing and often frustrating nuclear negotiations between the U.S. and North Korea and heightened tensions between nuclear neighbors India and Pakistan over Kashmir, having a […] More
Members Only Reading the Clues on North Korea
Tim Willasey-Wilsey is a former senior member of the British Foreign Office and a Cipher Brief expert. He is currently a Senior Visiting Research Fellow […] More
Members Only Twitter Diplomacy and North Korea
The significant weekend visit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un started with a Tweet last Thursday as President Trump […] More
Members Only Hanoi Summit Success Likely to Come at a Cost
The world is watching Hanoi this week as President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un hold their second summit meeting in less than […] More
Members Only The Next North Korean Summit
President Donald Trump will hold a second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in late February. The White House made the announcement following […] More
Members Only Avoiding ‘Fire and Fury’ with North Korea
Bottom Line Up Front: Six months after the historic June 11, 2018 Summit between President Donald Trump and Chairman Kim Jung Un, the American public […] More
Members Only Cyber: “The System is Blinking Red Once Again”
At a recent private D.C. dinner, Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen gathered with academics and cyber experts from the private sector to talk candidly about […] More
Members Only North Korea’s Nuclear Strategy
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is touting his recent trip to Pyongyang as a success, saying that he was able to make ‘real progress’ toward […] More
Members Only North Korea’s Statecraft-Cybercrime Nexus
While much of the focus on North Korea has been on efforts by the U.S. to negotiate a denuclearization deal, the cyber threat posed by […] More
Members Only Opinion: Two Koreas Running Rings Around U.S.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met with North Korea’s foreign minister on Wednesday and says he will visit Pyongyang next month to pave the […] More
Members Only North Korea Brief II: Critical Allied Relationships
In part two of The Cipher Brief’s Expert Briefing on North Korea, Ambassador Joseph DeTrani focuses on the critical relationships with allies and partners and […] More
Members Only North Korea Brief I: Path to Progress on Negotiations
Experts cited the lack of intercontinental ballistic missiles in North Korea’s 70th anniversary parade celebrations over the weekend as a sign that the nuclear nation […] More