The Spirit of Democracy in South Korea
OPINION — South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s decision to impose martial law in South Korea was a desperate and cowardly attempt to stifle free speech […] More
South Korea
5 Hours That Shook South Korea – and What Comes Next
EXPERT INTERVIEW — It was a shock that few saw coming – and which brought memories of South Korea’s days as a military dictatorship, a generation […] More
Memo to the 47th President: There’s a Way Forward on North Korea
MEMO TO THE PRESIDENT — To the President-elect: North Korea spent almost thirty years trying to normalize relations with the U.S., knowing it would legitimize the […] More
The Danger of War on the Korean Peninsula
OPINION — North Korea’s enhanced allied relationship with Russia, and leader Kim Jong Un’s decision to send troops to aid Russia in its war of aggression […] More
The Latest
The Threat from North Korea
OPINION — North Korea is now aligned unmistakably with a revanchist Russian Federation, providing artillery shells, ballistic missiles and now troops on the ground to […] More
Prime Minister Kishida’s Successful Visit – A Time to Reflect
OPINION — The state visit of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida was a timely reminder, by one of our closest allies, that the tense situation […] More
Where Are We 70 Years After the ROK-US Treaty?
OPINION — This is the 70th anniversary of the Mutual Defense Treaty between the U.S. and the Republic of Korea (ROK), signed October 1, 1953. […] More
What’s Behind Sending a U.S. Sub to South Korea?
ANALYSIS / INTERVIEW – The last time a nuclear-armed American submarine docked in South Korea, Kim Jong-un, North Korea’s Supreme Leader, was not yet born. Forty-years […] 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
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
How South Korea’s Election Could Impact U.S. National Security
Bottom Line: In the closest South Korean presidential election in decades, Yoon Suk-yeol, a former prosecutor, recently defeated the ruling party candidate, Lee Jae-myung. Yoon ran […] 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
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
Coronavirus (COVID-19) Spreads Amid Fears of a Global Pandemic
Bottom Line Up Front Countries are struggling to counter the spread of the coronavirus respiratory disease, while also trying to figure out how to […] 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
The Serious Trust Deficit Between Washington and Pyongyang
OPINION — Two senior U.S. military commanders in the Indo-Pacific area this week questioned whether North Korea would ever denuclearize, just 12 days before the next […] More
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