Note to Adversaries: The U.S. isn’t as vulnerable as you think
Cipher Brief Expert Ambassador Joseph R. DeTrani was the former Special Envoy for Negotiations with North Korea and Director of the National Counterproliferation Center. He […] More
North Korea
How to Deal with a Nuclear North Korea
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
North Korea Provides Valuable Opportunity for US-China Relations
Ambassador Joseph DeTrani is former Special envoy for Six Party Talks with North Korea as well as former CIA director of East Asia Operations. He […] More
Where are Tensions with North Korea Headed?
Ambassador Joseph DeTrani is former Special envoy for Six Party Talks with North Korea and the U.S. Representative to the Korea Energy Development Organization (KEDO), […] More
Who is Kim Yo-jong?
The sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un made headlines over the weekend as she threatened military action against South Korea, and deemed the inter-Korean liaison […] More
What We Need Now are Intra-Korean Talks
Cipher Brief Expert Ambassador Joseph DeTrani was the former Special Envoy for Negotiations with North Korea. He is currently a Fellow at the Institute of […] More
The Many Faces of Chairman Kim Jung Un
At the recent December 2019 plenum, Chairman Kim, rather than giving his traditional New Year’s speech, outlined a different strategy toward the US moving forward […] More
Cyber is the New Nuclear
OPINION — The Trump administration’s new attempt to open strategic nuclear talks with China “ASAP,” as mentioned in a State Department tweet last Friday, focuses […] More
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
Kim Jong-Un’s Bad Advice
Cipher Brief Expert Ambassador Joseph R. DeTrani was the former Special Envoy for Negotiations with North Korea. OPINION — North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, is […] More
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
Negotiating with North Korea
Cipher Brief Expert Ambassador Joseph DeTrani offers his seasoned perspective on negotiating with North Korea. This piece was first published by our friends at 38 […] More
A Fading Chance for Improvement with North Korea
During 2018 and part of 2019, the DPRK’s Chairman Kim Jong-un, South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in, and U.S. President Donald Trump collectively made diplomatic history […] More
Kim Jung Un’s Hubris
North Korean leader Kim Jung Un’s recent actions were disturbing – and potentially dangerous. After two summits with President Donald Trump and an historic June […] More
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
North Korea and Nobel Prizes
OPINION — While two former U.S. Presidents – Jimmy Carter in 1994 and Bill Clinton in 2009 – had made historic visits to Pyongyang, meeting […] More
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
Russia’s Global Ambitions: A Member Briefing with Steven Hall
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is expected to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov this week in Russia. The […] More