Is North Korea’s nuclear tech for sale? (June Park, Jonathan B. Miller, East Asia Forum)

http://www.eastasiaforum.org/2016/11/03/is-north-koreas-nuclear-tech-for-sale/

Taking North Korea Seriously (Carl Bildt, Project-Syndicate)

We are living in dangerous and uncertain times. The United States is engaged in a bizarre and highly polarized presidential election. Its relationship with an increasingly revisionist Russia is undergoing what is essentially a “re-set” in reverse, while Russia’s revisionism is also putting pressure on a Europe already plagued by uncertainty in the wake of the United Kingdom’s vote to leave the European Union. Meanwhile, the Middle East is imploding, with wars in Syria and Yemen fueling a large-scale refugee crisis.

https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/china-cooperation-korean-nuclear-threat-by-carl-bildt-2016-10

Japan’s nuclear insurance against North Korea (Nidhi Prasad, East Asia Forum)

George Shultz’s axiom that ‘proliferation begets proliferation’ appears to be contested in East Asia. North Korea conducted its fifth nuclear test on 9 September, leaving its non-nuclear Asian neighbours vexed. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe termed it ‘totally unacceptable’ and has called for strict sanctions. But the international fear of North Korea’s nuclear tests triggering a chain of nuclear tests in East Asia or the rise of a nuclear tsunami seems to have been dispelled with the United States’ Asian allies favouring ‘strategic assurance’.

http://www.eastasiaforum.org/2016/10/12/japans-nuclear-insurance-against-north-korea/

What's Wrong with Both Sides of the North Korea Debate (Robert A. Manning, James Przystup, The National Interest)

Neither peace treaties nor regime change are realistic solutions.

http://nationalinterest.org/feature/whats-wrong-both-sides-the-north-korea-debate-17983

Private Aid, Not Governments, Can Help North Koreans (Doug Bandow, The National Interest)

Here’s a tip: charities actually know what they’re doing.

http://nationalinterest.org/feature/private-aid-not-governments-can-help-north-koreans-17945

Will Kim Jong-un Exploit U.S. and South Korean Elections? (Patrick M. Cronin, The National Interest)

America's strategic influence is at stake.

http://nationalinterest.org/feature/will-kim-jong-un-exploit-us-south-korean-elections-17879

What If President Bill Clinton Had Gone to North Korea? (Doug Bandow, The National Interest)

A transformation of the U.S.-North Korea relationship a couple of decades ago could have dramatically changed the international environment, encouraging the North to take a different path.

http://nationalinterest.org/feature/what-if-president-bill-clinton-had-gone-north-korea-17867

Four Ways to Unilaterally Sanction North Korea (Scott A. Snyder, CFR)

It has been almost three weeks since North Korea conducted its fifth nuclear test, but China and the United States have not yet reached agreement on the text of a new UN Security Council resolution condemning the country.

http://blogs.cfr.org/asia/2016/09/28/four-ways-to-unilaterally-sanction-north-korea/

Will China Change its North Korea Policy? (Scott A. Snyder, CFR)

This year’s Nuclear Security Summit offers a fresh opportunity for Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Barack Obama to discuss the most serious global threat to nuclear security: North Korea’s nuclear defiance. North Korea’s fourth nuclear test in January and long-range missile launch in February have catalyzed Chinese cooperation with the United States to pass a stronger-than-expected UN Security Council resolution condemning North Korea for its nuclear development efforts. A long-standing strategic interest in stability on the Korean peninsula has remained China’s primary consideration in maintaining close ties with Pyongyang and occasionally countering international efforts to punish the regime for its nuclear activities. But this year's summit occurs at a time of growing Chinese resentment at North Korea’s willingness to take Chinese support for granted and put Chinese strategic interests at risk.

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China and North Korea: The long goodbye? (Jonathan D. Pollack, Brookings)

China’s estrangement from North Korea continues to fester and deepen. Following protracted negotiations in the aftermath of Pyongyang’s fourth nuclear test and subsequent satellite launch, the U.N. Security Council has imposed far more severe restrictions on North Korean trade, finance, and maritime activities. The resolution—which passed on March 2 and for which China was a key drafter—portends a much edgier and uncertain relationship between Beijing and Pyongyang.

http://www.brookings.edu/blogs/order-from-chaos/posts/2016/03/28-china-north-korea-sanctions-pollack

Is North Korea’s Nuclear Program Irreversible? (Elizabeth Philipp, The National Interest)

Pandora’s box is open: North Korea possesses nuclear knowledge, and isn’t shy to show off the rewards of its scientific efforts, including its latest unveiling of an alleged miniaturized nuclear bomb. But is it possible to put North Korean nuclear expertise back in the box and convince the capricious regime to denuclearize? Recently, the international community has given a renewed effort to doing just that.

http://nationalinterest.org/feature/north-koreas-nuclear-program-irreversible-15537

Time to rethink North Korea strategy (Sangsoo Lee, Alec Forss, ISDP)

North Korea’s recent nuclear test and ostensible satellite launch puts the spotlight on the failure of the international community to tame Pyongyang. Led by the United States, the international community has reacted strongly to the recent tests, pushing additional punitive sanctions against Pyongyang and raising the prospect of additional military deterrence measures. The UN Security Council has passed a resolution imposing tougher sanctions on North Korea, including banning imports of coal, iron and other mineral imports.

http://www.eastasiaforum.org/2016/03/17/time-to-rethink-north-korea-strategy/

Now North Korea has nothing to lose (Andrei Lankov, Al Jazeera)

New UN resolution doesn't make the Korean Peninsula more secure and does not remove the nuclear threat.

http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2016/03/north-korea-virtually-lose-nuclear-pyongyang-sanctions-160308063242318.html

North Korea and the Logic of a Nuclear Asia (Robert A. Manning, The National Interest)

Kim Jong-un has instructed for nuclear weapons to be ready “at any time.”

http://nationalinterest.org/feature/north-korea-the-logic-nuclear-asia-15399

The New UN Sanctions and Prospects for North Korea’s Denuclearization (Scott A. Snyder, CFR)

The UN Security Council (UNSC) has passed Resolution 2270 condemning North Korea for its January 6 nuclear test and February 7 missile launch. The language of the new resolution greatly expands the breadth and depth of previous sanctions resolutions (1695, 1718, 1874, 2087, and 2094) on North Korea, but its impact ultimately will depend on political will of member states, particularly China, to enforce implementation.

http://blogs.cfr.org/asia/2016/03/02/the-new-un-sanctions-and-north-koreas-commitment-to-denuclearization/

North Korea: End Kim Family’s Legacy of Abuse (HRW)

North Korea’s decision to celebrate late leader Kim Jong-Il’s birthday on February 16, 2016, with a satellite launch should not distract the international community from the regime’s extensive abuses, Human Rights Watch said today. Instead, the international community and the United Nations should focus on steps to bring the Kim family to account for the grave violations and crimes against humanity they have inflicted on the North Korean people.

https://www.hrw.org/news/2016/02/13/north-korea-end-kim-familys-legacy-abuse

How Do You Deal With North Korea? (Ankit Panda, The Diplomat)

The Diplomat‘s Ankit Panda, Shannon Tiezzi, and Prashanth Parameswaran discuss North Korea’s recent Kwangmyongsong-4 satellite launch and the ensuing diplomatic fallout across Northeast Asia.

http://thediplomat.com/2016/02/how-do-you-deal-with-north-korea/

North Korea: waiting out the tortoise? (Rod Lyon, ASPI The Strategist)

North Korea’s latest satellite launch helps expose the paucity of the international community’s options for responding against a determined proliferator. The UN huddles to agree on new sanctions against Kim Jong-un’s regime. China counsels all parties to act calmly and with deliberation, clearly still believing that the present regime in Pyongyang is preferable to an uncertain future on the peninsula. The Obama administration clings tenaciously to its policy of strategic patience—a policy that makes sense only on the condition that we can wait out North Korean radicalism.

http://www.aspistrategist.org.au/north-korea-waiting-out-the-tortoise/

North Korea’s nuclear deterrent (Gwynne Dyer, Arab News)

Here we go again. North Korea launched a ballistic missile of intercontinental range on Sunday, saying that it was just putting up a satellite, only weeks after it carried out its fourth nuclear weapons test, which it claimed was a hydrogen bomb. The United Nations Security Council strongly condemned it, and even the People’s Republic of China, North Korea’s only ally, expressed its “regret” at what the country had done.

http://www.arabnews.com/columns/news/879216

Learning its lesson? What the Iran deal should teach China about sanctioning North Korea (Jonathan D. Pollack, Brookings)

More than a month after North Korea’s fourth nuclear test and days following Pyongyang’s second satellite launch, the U.N. Security Council has yet to reach agreement on a new resolution opposing the North’s nuclear and missile development. Despite assurances from China’s U.N. ambassador that all involved parties are “getting closer” to final agreement, there is no end in sight. The patience of the United States and its allies, meanwhile, is wearing thin.

http://www.brookings.edu/blogs/order-from-chaos/posts/2016/02/11-iran-deal-lessons-china-north-korea-pollack