Frank Aum discusses the Korean Peninsula, and whether there is a pathway to keep the peaceful momentum going after the Olympic Games. Aum also tells us about the effect of international sanctions on North Korea and China’s interests.
On Peace is a weekly podcast sponsored by USIP and Sirius XM POTUS. Each week, USIP experts tackle the latest foreign policy issues from around the world.
Putin’s trip to North Korea wasn’t just about securing more weapons for his war on Ukraine — Moscow and Pyongyang signed a mutual defense pact, which could be “potentially very destabilizing for the Korean Peninsula” and “smacks a little of desperation” on Russia’s part, says USIP’s Mary Glantz.
The separation of families has been one of the most enduring and palpable consequences of the division of the Korean Peninsula. This seven-decade severance between kin has not only affected those on both sides of the Demilitarized Zone, but also members of the diaspora, most of whom reside in the United States.
As President Vladimir Putin’s illegal war on Ukraine grinds on, the Russian leader needs friends and supporters wherever he can get them. To that end, Putin traveled this week to North Korea for the first time in nearly 25 years, looking to deepen cooperation with the rogue regime and, chiefly, to get more ammunition for his war on Ukraine. Putin and Kim Jong Un inked what the North Korean leader called “the most powerful treaty” ever between the two countries. While strengthened ties between two of Washington’s most enduring adversaries are of unquestioned concern for the U.S., Beijing is also wary of the implications.
News reports over the past few years featuring Kim Jong Un’s sister, Kim Yo Jong, or his daughter, Kim Ju Ae, have led to speculation about a future North Korea ruled by a woman. This is an intriguing development worth monitoring, given the North Korean regime’s history of patrilineal succession. However, ordinary North Korean women may have a greater role to play in the future of the country.