Though once described by Mao Zedong as being as close as "lips and teeth," the sixty-year history of the Sino-DPRK alliance has been littered with instances of tension and conflict. According to James Person, this history accounts for Pyongyang's deep mistrust of China and its interest in developing a relationship with the United States, despite appearances to the contrary. Newly obtained documents from the archives of North Korea's former communist… Read More

On March 26, 2010, The Korea Society presented a panel discussion at the Association for Asian Studies annual meeting in Philadelphia on the security challenges that North Korea poses to Northeast Asia. Moderated by The Korea Society president Evans J.R. Revere, the conversation included Scott Snyder, director of the Center for U.S.-Korea Policy at the Asia Foundation; Gordon Flake, executive director of the Mansfield Foundation; and Sydney Seiler, deputy North… Read More

The Korea Society, the leading American organization dedicated to understanding and cooperation between the U.S. and Korea, will convene a panel of experts to discuss possible Korean responses to the sinking of the Cheonan, a Republic of Korea Navy ship. Ambassador Thomas C. Hubbard, chairman of The Korea Society; John Delury, associate director of the Center on U.S.–China Relations; and David Straub, associate director of the Korean Studies Program at… Read More

When assessing the impact of the mid-1990s famine on the North Korean population, experts have been working on an assumption: that North Koreans living in the country's breadbasket provinces were relatively better nourished than those in other provinces. Though a reasonable premise, Hazel Smith, professor of international relations at Warwick University and author of Hungry for Peace: International Security, Humanitarian Assistance and Social Change in North Korea, has researched reams… Read More

A Panel Discussion When the New York Philharmonic became the first American orchestra to play in North Korea on February 26, 2008, decades worth of Cold War reality was stood on its head. With the stars and stripes standing on stage, the 1500 North Koreans in the audience stood at attention as the musicians launched into America's national anthem. A month later, four of those who orchestrated and covered the… Read More

The Korea Society shares pre-performance insights and tackles patron Q&A on North Korea as part of the world premiere of Korean-American playwright Mia Chung’s You for Me for You; Chung has been hailed as “one of the most imaginative young writers of her generation.” Directed by Yury Urnov, the production portrays two North Korean sisters who face starvation and bargain with a smuggler to flee to the United States. When… Read More

In this latest installment of The Korea Society’s highly popular series on China-North Korea relations, Harvard University Belfer Center Associate and MIT Stanton Foundation Fellow John Park reviews new developments, with an eye toward regime consolidation in Pyongyang, party-to-party relations, and the evolution of Chinese-style economic zones in North Korea. Dr. Park previously worked at the U.S. Institute of Peace, in Goldman Sachs's public finance group, as project leader of… Read More

With the passing of North Korea’s Kim Jong Il, we have seen telecast images from Pyongyang of mass grief; South Korea offering sympathy to the people of North Korea and permitting the Hyundai and Kim Dae Jung families permission to attend observances; the United States noting the passing and reiterating its desire for stability on the Peninsula and its support for the ROK-U.S. alliance; and China’s Wen Jiabao, Hu Jintao,… Read More

How does one analyze North Korea developments? Is it possible to get a clear read and, if so, in what areas? Is North Korea a “black box” or more knowable, especially with new openings? This third installment of this summer’s Knowing North Korea series features Dr. Sue Terry, Managing Director at Gerson Global Advisors, a strategic investment and advisory firm based in New York. In this role, she co-heads the… Read More

Dr. John Park, formerly of Goldman Sachs and now director of the Korea Working Group at the U.S. Institute of Peace, explores North Korea’s leadership transition in the context of Chinese and North Korean party connections. Dr. Park addresses the impact of recent events and Chinese foreign policy toward the Peninsula for media and business managing strategic risk. Thursday, February 3 North Korea’s Leadership Transition: The China Connection Executive Policy… Read More