In The News

What Surprise?

Nicholas Eberstadt March 1, 2005
North Korea's long-term goal has always been reunification of the Korean peninsula – under the unconditional rule of Pyongyang's socialist dictatorship. While the United States, Japan, and other countries have tried to deter North Korea's nuclear and missile development programs by offering aid, only a short-sighted strategist would reason that Pyongyang's objective is to...

US-Russia Relations Saved for Now

Dmitry V. Suslov February 28, 2005
Though the recent meeting between US President George W. Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin ended predictably with handshakes and smiles, all is not well with bilateral relations. As Dmitry V. Suslov reports, the superficial glazing-over of fundamental disagreements, though a short-term diplomatic "band-aid," may do substantial harm to regional and international politics. Of...

Les relations americano-russes sont indemnes, pour le moment

Dmitry V. Suslov February 28, 2005

Questions of Timing…

William C. Triplett II February 14, 2005
North Korea's recent announcement left many observers questioning its timing. One factor may have been the recent visit to China by members of President Bush's National Security Council. During their visit, US officials told their counterparts in Beijing that Libyan nuclear materials had been scientifically tested. These tests showed that certain materials had come from North Korea,...

Beijing Counts Cost of Supporting an Embarrassing Old Friend

Hamish McDonald February 14, 2005
During the Korean War, hundreds of thousands of Chinese soldiers came to the aid of North Korea in battling US forces. Over fifty years later, it is clear that history will not repeat itself: China is not prepared to make sacrifices for a regime that has become a political embarrassment and a possible threat to China's own economic development. Observers of Chinese policy now say that...

The Rise of a New Axis?

Leonard S. Spector February 11, 2005
North Korea is at it again. On the eve of a new round of diplomatic talks on its troubling nuclear program, Pyongyang has upped the ante: Announcing that it has already manufactured 'nukes,' the government suddenly suspended its participation in negotiations. This revelation comes in the wake of US reports that North Korea secretly shipped nuclear material to Libya, a shipment which...

Pyongyang Damps Hope for Nuclear Deal

Anna Fifield February 11, 2005
By announcing that it has already manufactured nuclear weapons and that it would withdraw from multilateral negotiations on its disarmament, North Korea surprised its dialogue partners and the world. The US, Chinese, Russian, Japanese and South Korean governments, as well as foreign policy analysts, are busy trying to figure out what message Pyongyang is trying to deliver. The US State Department...