Skip to main content
The Interpreter

Interpreter - Menu Links

  • Articles
  • Debates
  • Contributors
  • About

Published daily by the Lowy Institute

  • 18 Jan 2023
    • North Korea
    • South Korea
    • Nuclear Weapons

    “If the problem becomes more serious”: South Korea talks going nuclear

    Gabriela Bernal
    The high stakes on Korean Peninsula have quickly become even more acute in 2023.
  • 10 Jan 2023
    • North Korea

    The Korean Peninsula: Why 2023 will not be like 2017

    Khang Vu
    “Fire and fury” had more to do with the temperament of the White House, while Pyongyang provokes with purpose.
  • 12 Dec 2022
    • North Korea
    • Nuclear Weapons

    North Korea’s “Take Your Daughter to Work Day” goes ballistic

    Soo Kim
    Does the appearance of Kim Jong-un’s “beloved” middle child signal more than just succession planning?
  • 7 Dec 2022
    • North Korea
    • Nuclear Weapons

    All in the family: North Korea’s means of nuclear survivability

    Khang Vu
    Kim Jong-un’s daughter reveal might be about keeping a trusted finger on the nuclear button more than succession plans.
  • 24 Nov 2022
    • North Korea

    Worth a thousand words: what Kim Jong‑un’s daughter photo tells

    Gabriela Bernal
    The leader’s strategy is long-term, both for the continued rule of North Korea and its nuclear ambition.
  • 11 Nov 2022
    • North Korea
    • South Korea
    • Nuclear Weapons

    North Korea: unpredictably predictable

    Khang Vu
    The rationale behind Pyongyang’s provocative missile launches may not be as menacing as it appears.
  • 4 Nov 2022
    • North Korea
    • South Korea
    • Nuclear Weapons
    • United States

    Solutions to the North Korea issue no longer include denuclearisation

    Daniel R. DePetris
    A minimalist approach based on arms control, risk reduction and deterrence is what’s needed right now on the Peninsula.
  • 25 Oct 2022
    • North Korea
    • South Korea

    The Korean Peninsula still poses major risks

    Gabriela Bernal
    Escalating tensions and vicious cycles. We’ve heard this story before. That doesn’t make the situation less dangerous.
  • 6 Oct 2022
    • North Korea

    Come what may, North Korea perseveres

    Khang Vu
    No manner of sanctions appears to dent Pyongyang’s determination to remain solitary and nuclear armed.
  • 5 Oct 2022
    • Japan
    • North Korea
    • South Korea
    • Nuclear Weapons
    • United States

    Hot button issue: North Korea’s bold new nuclear stance

    Gabriela Bernal
    Regional leaders would do well to focus on engagement with Pyongyang after missile launches set a dangerous precedent.
  • 8 Sep 2022
    • Japan
    • North Korea
    • South Korea

    Can Seoul and Tokyo mend ties?

    Gabriela Bernal
    Defence talks this week are a good sign. But a lot of history stands in the way of cooperation, even over North Korea.
  • 7 Sep 2022
    • North Korea
    • Coronavirus

    North Korea’s politics defeats Covid … almost

    Khang Vu
    In one of the world’s most isolated countries, there’s no escaping microbiology, even when you’re the Chairman.
  • 6 Sep 2022
    • China
    • North Korea
    • Russia
    • Review

    China, Russia and North Korea: the wars that never end

    Mateo Szlapek-Sewillo
    A new book explores pride and defiance as weapons of history in the world’s socialist and autocratic bloc.
  • 10 Aug 2022
    • North Korea
    • Russia

    Russia and North Korea: never waste a good crisis

    Gabriela Bernal
    With the world focused on Ukraine, Taiwan and elsewhere, North Korea is making mischief and remains a threat.
  • 5 Aug 2022
    • North Korea
    • South Korea
    • United States

    Koreas: The hidden risk of the “kill chain”

    Khang Vu
    South Korea's threat to pre-emptively decapitate the leadership in Pyongyang may drag the United States into a conflict.
  • 28 Jun 2022
    • China
    • Japan
    • North Korea
    • South Korea
    • Taiwan
    • United States

    Contingency plans: South Korea and cross-Strait security

    Henry Storey
    Seoul’s new administration faces critical choices over Taiwan and its relationships with Washington and Beijing.
  • 27 Jun 2022
    • North Korea
    • Nuclear Weapons

    Patiently waiting for North Korea’s next nuclear test

    Khang Vu
    Any countdown could depend on what Beijing is willing to tolerate.
  • 8 Jun 2022
    • United States
    • Australia
    • China
    • India
    • Japan
    • North Korea

    The Pyongyang problem for the Quad

    Cherry Hitkari
    North Korea poses a challenge for regional security, and so often China has stood to benefit from such instability.
  • 20 May 2022
    • North Korea
    • Coronavirus

    Lies, damn lies, and North Korea’s Covid statistics

    Khang Vu
    Why has Pyongyang suddenly fessed up to an outbreak after years of insisting the virus has been held completely at bay?
  • 4 May 2022
    • Nuclear Weapons
    • North Korea

    For North Korea, military parades come before the people’s wellbeing

    Khang Vu
    There is no mask over the regime’s true intentions.
  • 13 Apr 2022
    • Public Opinion
    • North Korea
    • South Korea

    Bellicose or bluster? How South Koreans see the North’s nuclear threat

    Timothy S. Rich , Brooklind Norman , Josie Coyle
    The policy of a new president in Seoul depends not only on Pyongyang but also South Korean public perceptions.
  • 30 Mar 2022
    • North Korea
    • South Korea

    Why now? The timing of North Korea’s ICBM test

    Khang Vu
    History has an alarming habit of repeating on the Korean peninsula.
  • 22 Mar 2022
    • United States
    • North Korea
    • South Korea

    Waiting for North Korea to escalate

    Martin Weiser
    With Pyongyang ramping up its missile testing, it’s unclear whether they’re looking for a deal or a provocation.
  • 10 Jan 2022
    • North Korea
    • South Korea

    Koreas: A tale of two Olympics

    Khang Vu
    Moon Jae-in won’t finish his presidency with the podium finish he’d dreamed of four years ago.
  • 2 Dec 2021
    • Defence & Security
    • United States
    • United Nations
    • North Korea
    • South Korea

    Honouring the dead on the path to Korean peace

    Khang Vu
    Recovering troop remains and negotiating denuclearisation are vital to end-of-war declarations on the Korean peninsula.
  • 25 Nov 2021
    • North Korea

    North Korea: Law, but not as we know it

    Martin Weiser
    Authoritarian leaders do not allow the final supremacy of courts but even a patina of legal function helps cement rule.
  • 6 Oct 2021
    • United States
    • North Korea
    • South Korea

    With Biden’s lukewarm diplomacy, North Korea runs hot and cold

    Khang Vu
    The vague North Korea policy from the White House has left all parties unsure what the United States hopes to achieve.
  • 16 Sep 2021
    • North Korea
    • South Korea
    • Nuclear Weapons
    • United States

    North Korea’s calculated restraint

    Khang Vu
    Pyongyang is giving Washington a taste of its own “strategic patience” medicine.
  • 19 Aug 2021
    • United States
    • North Korea
    • South Korea

    North Korea calling

    Khang Vu
    The hotline between Pyongyang and Seoul is operational again despite irritation at joint US military ops in the region.
  • 30 Jul 2021
    • Defence & Security
    • China
    • North Korea
    • Russia

    Why China and North Korea decided to renew a 60-year-old treaty

    Khang Vu
    Mutual interests abound in a win-win for the alliance of single-party states.
  • 29 Jun 2021
    • North Korea

    K-drama takes a dark turn

    Nicole de Souza
    How K-pop and K-culture pose a threat to Kim Jong-un’s rule
  • 24 Jun 2021
    • United States
    • North Korea

    North Korea: The long-awaited fallout of summit diplomacy

    Khang Vu
    Pyongyang is hinting at talks. But only at a price. And history shows it will then ask for more.
  • 3 Jun 2021
    • United States
    • North Korea
    • South Korea

    Moon’s last, best chance after Biden summit

    Soo Kim
    The South Korean president came to Washington for vaccine supplies and to shore up a legacy for North Korea engagement.
  • 24 May 2021
    • North Korea
    • South Korea
    • United States

    “Flexible” is the new North Korea policy buzzword

    Khang Vu
    A responsive approach has clear benefits, but Washington and Seoul must be careful not to fall out of line.
  • 11 May 2021
    • United States
    • North Korea
    • South Korea

    Biden’s North Korea review is a diplomatic victory for Moon Jae-in

    Khang Vu
    South Korea’s president has won the new administration in Washington over to his way of thinking.
  • 6 May 2021
    • United States
    • North Korea

    Biden’s North Korea plans come into view

    Soo Kim
    Short on details, the US president’s policy positions still leave plenty of room for speculation.
  • 5 May 2021
    • International Relations
    • North Korea

    Is North Korea expertise all talk?

    Jeffrey Robertson
    The debate around understanding one of the world’s most reclusive nations centres on the question of language.
  • 16 Apr 2021
    • North Korea
    • South Korea

    South Korea on North Korea: Keep on keeping on

    Khang Vu
    Moon Jae-in wants diplomacy to work with Kim Jong-un and is determined to push ahead.
  • 14 Apr 2021
    • Diplomacy
    • North Korea

    With Olympic snub, North Korea returns to isolation

    André Leslie
    Pyongyang’s decision to skip the Tokyo games is part of a broader retreat back to the international wilderness.
  • 22 Mar 2021
    • Diplomacy
    • United States
    • North Korea
    • Malaysia

    North Korea and Malaysia’s predictable diplomatic divorce

    James Chin
    Pyongyang is sending a message in typically overbearing style. But the target is as much the US as it is Malaysia.
  • 16 Mar 2021
    • United States
    • North Korea
    • South Korea

    Troubles ahead for the US–South Korea alliance

    Khang Vu
    Biden’s efforts to nudge Seoul into the Quad may be self-defeating unless Moon Jae-in’s North Korea hopes are engaged.
  • 24 Feb 2021
    • North Korea
    • Vietnam

    The ups and downs of the Vietnam–North Korea relationship

    Khang Vu
    Hanoi and Pyongyang have had their share of differences, but they also have a long historical connection.
  • 13 Jan 2021
    • Defence & Security
    • United States
    • North Korea
    • South Korea

    Why North Korea wants an arms control deal with the United States

    Khang Vu
    Arms control might sound more appealing than tried-and-failed denuclearisation agreements – but it carries costs, too.
  • 21 Dec 2020
    • North Korea
    • Nuclear Weapons

    A missile spotter’s guide to North Korea (and beyond)

    Victor Abramowicz
    Everything happens for a reason. And that reason is normally physics or finance.
  • 17 Dec 2020
    • United States
    • Australia
    • China
    • North Korea
    • South Korea

    When China lashed out

    Frank Yuan
    Lessons of the past are too readily overlooked. But Australia has walked a tightrope between clashing giants before.
  • 4 Dec 2020
    • North Korea

    North Korea’s very odd year

    Khang Vu
    Compounding crises have forced Kim Jong-un to break old habits. It may be a sign of new opportunity.
  • 25 Nov 2020
    • Diplomacy
    • Multilateral Institutions
    • North Korea

    In search of a middle-power rethink on North Korea policy

    Jeffrey Robertson
    An international commission could potentially transform an outdated and failed approach to the Korean peninsula.
  • 30 Oct 2020
    • United States
    • North Korea
    • The 2020 US Presidential Election

    Why Kim Jong-un will soon miss Donald Trump

    Khang Vu
    No more squabbles over big buttons, for one thing.
  • 12 Oct 2020
    • North Korea

    North Korea’s new missile

    Sam Roggeveen
    If – big if – this missile is real, America cannot guarantee its homeland security in a war with North Korea.
  • 3 Sep 2020
    • United States
    • North Korea
    • South Korea
    • The 2020 US Presidential Election

    A Biden presidency and the US–South Korea alliance

    Khang Vu
    Can Joe Biden, if elected, heal the rift between the two countries, or will he make it worse?
Pagination
  • Previous page ‹ Previous
  • Current page 1
  • Page 2
  • Page 3
  • Page 4
  • Page 5
  • Next page ››

Stay informed with the latest commentary and analysis on international events from experts at the Lowy Institute and around the world.

Register

The Interpreter features in-depth analysis & expert commentary on the latest international events, published daily by the Lowy Institute

© Copyright 2023 Lowy Institute

  • Debates
  • Contributors
  • Articles
  • About
  • Comments Policy
  • My Bookmarks
  • Terms of Use
  • Site map
  • My Admin
  • Log In