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Young adults will be the next generation of leaders, and it is critical for them to be cognizant of major issues that impact society. Unification is a significant issue in South Korea, especially in light of the recent summits between South and North Korea. This study is rooted in principles of peace education to promote peaceful discourse related to unification issues. Unification education plays an important role in K-12 education in South Korea; however, it is not prioritized at the university level. This case study, which included open-ended surveys, interviews, and focus groups, explored South Korean university students' (n=33) views of creating short-term classes on unification and the types of topics that they think should be taught in these classes. Primary results indicate that most participants expressed interest in taking short-term classes on unification issues. The paper also includes practical implications that can be considered when developing short-term classes on unification in South Korean universities.

Despite the increasing literature on textbook analysis in post-conflict societies, few studies have investigated textbooks in conflict-ridden areas where wars and armed conflicts are still ongoing. This study examines representations of North Korea and unification in South Korean middle school social studies textbooks. South Korea is an interesting case to study, as it is the site of both an intractable conflict and emerging multicultural state. The findings of the study demonstrate that textbooks failed to provide any complex international perspectives of unification; described deficit-only views of North Korea, along with a sense of economic, cultural and political superiority of South Korea; took a lopsided view of the South-North relationship; and offered a nationalistic and ethnocentric approach to legitimising unification. This paper provides recommendations for future research that will resonate with scholars and policymakers in different conflict situations, contributing to diverse understandings of the contextualised nature of textbooks in divided societies.

This paper explains South Korea's foreign policy preferences and degree of influence in negotiations between Washington and Pyongyang. It analyzes six administrations in South Korea in the post-Cold War era and shows that domestic politics determines the country's policy preferences toward North Korea. South Korea can either obstruct or facilitate U.S. negotiation with North Korea based on these policy preferences. It also shows that South Korea's diplomatic influence on the North Korean issue is maximized when it functions as a mediator between Washington and Pyongyang and maintains access to both parties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to analyze the most important aspects of the ideological relations between the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) in the face of the 20th Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC). The Policy Brief is divided into four parts: Reactions of the Workers' Party of Korea to the 20th Congress of the Communist Party CPC; Mention of Korea during the 20th CPC Congress; The role of CPC in People's Republic of China according to WKP and the Significance of Sino-North Korean ideological relations after 20th Congress of the CPC. The methodology included media and literature review, which were collected through Korean Central News Agency, Rodong Sinmun and documents of the 20th Congress of the CPC. This study makes evident the importance of ideological relations between China and North Korea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Article Type: Research paper Purpose--Special attention is given to the political dimension of the bilateral relationship, including Brazilian perceptions regarding the DPRK's standing on multilateral issues such as human rights and nuclear proliferation. The article provides an additional contribution to the understanding of the DPRK's diplomatic engagement in Latin America. Design, methodology, approach--This paper is based on access to recently declassified documentation produced by the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA). Access to the documentation was made available via requests based on Brazil's 2011 Access to Information Law. The analysis discusses the evolution of Brazil's engagement with the DPRK since 2001. Findings--The analysis illustrates how Brazil's decision to provide diplomatic recognition to the DPRK in 2001 was part of a broader effort to engage with different Asian states. Bilateral relations expanded in the 2003-2016 period due to a foreign policy orientation that encouraged the expansion of Brazilian relations with the Global South. Practical implications--The research helps to understand the Brazilian decision to grant diplomatic recognition to the DPRK as well as the consolidation of bilateral relations in the two decades that followed, including the influence of multilateral issues on bilateral relations. Originality/Value: The article brings to attention primary sources that were previously unexplored. The paper sheds light into Brazil-DPRK and DPRK-Latin American relations, two understudied topics associated with the DPRK's international presence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Article Type: Viewpoint paper Purpose--This is an article which intends to clarify and profoundly specify China's North Korean foreign policy. Design, Methodology, Approach--This is a viewpoint paper which seeks to enhance the understanding of, and remedy any misunderstanding of China's key interest, as well as its intentions. Findings--First, regarding the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and the subsequent sanctions against the North, China wants to be seen as a legitimate, norm-based, great power. Second is the PRC-DPRK bilateral economic cooperation, which is a practicality driven diplomacy. Strategic efforts for balancing between justification and practicality represent its diplomatic concerns because Beijing's efforts to strike a strategic balance have resulted in lowering its "bottom-line thinking.". Practical Implications--As competition between the U.S. and China intensifies, China will pursue a more tactical two-sided strategy between implementing sanctions against the North, while at the same time cooperating economically with North Korea. China has to realize that its policy towards the North will result in a continued lowering of its political and strategic room to maneuver. Originality, Value--While much of the literature on PRC-DPRK regards China's diplomacy through the "buffer zone" explanation, this study sheds light on two other motives that clarify China's actions. China's North Korea policy is strategically focused on the above two areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper argues DPRK instability narratives that the Kim regime will collapse like the Soviet bloc are misguided and that US foreign policy founded upon them has at times led to a 'wait and see' approach sometimes referred to as strategic patience. One source of instability narratives, hereditary succession in North Korea, has occurred twice successfully, with leaders choosing their successor and being invested in their succession in a way that may not occur if the successor were not family. By comparing Kim Il Sung and Mao Ze Dong's succession attempts, this paper hypothesizes that the longer time a successor has to consolidate power prior to succession, herein referred to as the "power incubation period" (PIP), the more likely their regime's survival. This contributes to both the literature on authoritarian regime succession and foreign policy towards those regimes by demonstrating that the temporal aspect of regime consolidation takes place both before and after succession and that in cases of hereditary succession, the perceptional variant of family ties allows for a longer PIP prior to succession. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Financial sanctions have become a major component of American foreign policy. Since 2015, the number of blacklisted actors has nearly tripled, coinciding with US financial campaigns against Iran, North Korea, and Russia. This paper centers an under-examined paradox of this proliferation: the complexity of lifting financial sanctions. Indeed, successful sanctions regimes necessitate both sticks (punitive sanctions) and carrots (economic incentives). Yet financial sanctions often limit the economic benefits promised to target states, as banks and other financial institutions risk hefty material and reputational costs if they are to cooperate with previously sanctioned actors. Thus, while financial sanctions are effective at producing negative market reactions against a target, they can be hugely damaging if market actors do not cooperate with the lifting of sanctions. To capture this dynamic, this paper leverages process-tracing to observe financial market reactions to sanctions relief in three key cases—Iran (2010–2015), North Korea (2002–2007), and Libya (1996–2008). It finds that in each case, the presence or absence of US Treasury blacklisting corresponds to the post-sanction willingness of financial actors to extend sanctions relief to targeted states. In doing so, this study identifies "reputational risk" as the primary causal mechanism limiting a target's reintegration into the global economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Analyzing North Korea is essential for examining international relations in East Asia as a whole, but North Korea's tight control over information makes this difficult. Another factor complicating analysis of North Korea is its "special relationship" with China. The aim of this paper is to examine four factors contributing to the "special relationship" between China and North Korea, how that relationship came about, and how it functions within the context of international politics today. This paper is a structural analysis of China–North Korea relations that describes four factors behind their "special relationship." It continues by analyzing China–North Korea relations under Xi Jinping and Kim Jong-un up to the deployment of THAAD in South Korea. The "special relationship" between China and North Korea is based on four factors. What is distinctive about these factors is that they can bring the two sides together but also push them apart. In terms of national security issues, the force bringing them together has ultimately prevailed. Socialist ideology issues have surfaced much less frequently now and have lost their capacity to both bring the two together and push them apart. In the area of traditional ties, the two leaders are attempting to use their personal relationship to have closer relations, but this is not having much lasting effect. Where economic relations are concerned, Beijing and Pyongyang have become even more dependent on each other and this is a strong force pushing them closer together. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose—Starting in early 2018, Kim Jong-Un changed his attitude toward other countries by opening dialogues and negotiations, particularly with the U.S. and South Korea. It was unprecedented since he had been known to pursue a policy of isolation and was notoriously ruthless. hence, this paper aims to seek why he changed his foreign policy course in 2018 by offering an olive branch to South Korea and the U.S. Design/Methodology/Approach—This paper approaches this issue by tracing the historical cycle of the DPRK’s foreign policy behavior, linking the nuclear crisis, the DPRK’s plea for negotiation, and economic assistance/sanction relief. Findings—This paper concludes that the change in Kim’s foreign policy approach echoes the historical patterns and precedents which have been displayed by his predecessors. North Korea has displayed consistencies in actions, reactions, and interactions in employing their nuclear strategy to build relationships with foreign leaders to seek economic assistance, as well as to domestically secure their hereditary regime. Practical Implications—The DPRK, for many Ir students and scholars, is rather inexplicable and peculiar. Its hereditary system has persisted for decades, despite seeming economically fragile. Kim Jong-Un has been known to be merciless in ruling the country and initially refused to negotiate or talk with other countries about the nuclear issue; however, after a series of rapprochements, he seems to be more approachable and to behave more like a “statesman.” Therefore, this paper is expected to provide more insights and understanding about the DPRK, its “nuclear diplomacy,” foreign policy approach, and Kim Jong-Un himself by tracing the historical pattern of his predecessors as well as their policies. Originality/Value—This study aims to identify the change in behavior of the DPRK’s Supreme Leader. It is expected to enrich the existing literature on the DPRK and Kim Jong-Un. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractWhile human rights are an integral part of liberal democratic rule, the extent to which public opinion in democracies prioritises human rights in other countries relative to other competing foreign policy priorities is not clear. This is particularly the case when a country that systematically breaches human rights also poses a serious security threat and there are incentives to improve relations with the regime in power. To assess whether and how the public values human rights vis-à-vis national security in foreign affairs, this paper utilises survey questions that capture the public’s relative preferences between the two in South Korean public opinion regarding relations with North Korea. It provides evidence that when a democratic government attempts to improve relations with a regime committing grave human rights violations, public opinion in the democracy deprioritises human rights in favour of reducing military tension. The findings shed light on the trade-off that exists in attempts to improve relations with a regime that is both a security threat and a systematic violator of human rights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Article Type: Research Paper Purpose--Even when dealing with fellow socialist powers, North Korean diplomacy has never fit neatly into typical socialist bloc categories. The ideological and material underpinnings of this have taken on a complex and distinctly North Korean character. This study offers a theoretical deconstruction of the intersecting structural and normative influences on North Korean diplomacy in developing a typology of "socialist realism," situated within a realist-constructivist International Relations (IR) theory framework. Design/Methodology/Approach--This study relies on primary source material from various diplomatic archives, alongside theoretical works from leading North Korean figures and press coverage from within the DPRK. It does so to both contextualize the subject within the wider historical, ideological, and theoretical context and to draw upon an oft-neglected North Korean perspective in analyzing influences on North Korean diplomacy across various levels. Findings--North Korean diplomacy towards socialist states is found to be more adaptive than might be expected, shaped not by one definitive influence but instead positioned at the confluence of distinctive ideological goals and more conventional realist objectives of state survival. Practical Implications--The realist-constructivist framework explored within this paper serves as both a defining constraint on North Korean foreign policy and a conceptual tool for scholars analyzing North Korean diplomacy in both a historical and contemporary context, offering a broad utility to scholars and students alike across fields of history, International Relations, and political science. Originality/Value--This paper offers an original interpretation of influences on North Korean diplomacy by developing a new realist-constructivist perspective rooted in theoretical, historical, and ideological analysis. It is positioned at the intersection between history and IR theory whilst critically interpreting North Korean ideological, media, and institutional sources alike in seeking to understand the broad cultural and structural influences on North Korean diplomacy in greater depth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The connection between the everyday and the international has received increasing attention in critical IR in recent years. As many contributions aim to rethink the international in terms of the everyday, the mundane and the ordinary become a site of geopolitical analysis. The paper's central idea is that we, as academics and human beings, constantly face what can be called an international political sociology of the everyday in world politics: How is life in "distant" places? Who lives in these places? And, what are the people doing "over there"? By reflecting on how we obtain an idea of the everyday of certain places, this paper shifts its focus on representations or, more precisely, imaginations of home and the everyday for particular audiences. Precisely because the mundane can simultaneously be anything, everything, and nothing, it is important to turn to the practices and, in this vein, to the (geo)politics of mediating the everyday to us. In this regard, the paper provides an interpretive reading of two aesthetic texts--a film and a photographic essay--with the purpose of addressing imaginaries of home, the special senses, and venues of belonging wherein the everyday takes place, as particular sites of the international. In this way, the paper contributes to current efforts to decentralize current conceptions of the international. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on what has come to be known as a 'charm offensive,' a diplomatic technique countries may use to shift their international image through strategic public relations campaigns utilizing personal magnetism. The charm of the selected representative is meant to appeal to a broad international audience with the hope of improving the country's brand. The paper examines the concept and practice of a charm offensive through two case studies. The first is the Iranian charm offensive during the 2015 negotiations of the nuclear deal with the United States, when Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mohammad Javad Zarif aimed to improve his country's controversial international image through gentle, diplomatic communication and an aura of civility. The second case study is the charm offensive of North Korea from the 2018 Winter Olympics until the historic meeting of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and US President Donald J. Trump in June 2018. Both case studies analyze the media representations of the particular charm offensive in two countries, the United States and a regionally more proximate, and therefore likely more directly affected country: Israel and South Korea, respectively. I argue that quick image-transformations often characterize contemporary, highly mediatized international diplomatic communication. Unlike classical cases of soft power, the temporary alliances forged through charm offensives are not built on shared values, but on momentary appearances, and sometimes on deception. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since establishing diplomatic relations in October 1949, North Korea and China have forged a complex alliance characterized by both firm solidarity and mutual distrust. This paper analyzes the ups and downs of their alliance relationship by examining the "Northeast Rear Doctrine" (NRD) suggested by Mao Zedong in the early 1960s, which proposed that North Korea could utilize China's Northeast region as its rear base in the event of a war on the Korean Peninsula. Mao's proposal represents the apex of the Sino-North Korean alliance, implying China's temporary concession of its sovereignty over the northeastern territory to North Korea. However, when China and South Korea established diplomatic relations in 1992, the NRD policy was virtually abolished, thereby significantly affecting Sino-North Korean relations. First, it exacerbated security threats to North Korea's regime as Northeast China, which once served as Pyongyang's rear base, was transformed into Seoul's outpost for infiltration into North Korea. Second, it deepened North Korea's distrust of China and served as a catalyst for transforming Sino-North Korean relations into normal state-to-state dynamics, rather than the traditional party-to-party relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A person trapped in a building engulfed in a raging fire, a person dealing with severe chronic disease, people dealing with a virus pandemic, and people fighting in a protracted war may appear dissimilar but are fundamentally in a similar situation and their behaviors follow a predictable and similar pattern. In this paper, the behaviors of rational people dealing with a significant persistent unpleasant, or dangerous stimulus that is inescapable are elucidated. The unique modulatory effects of stimulus persistence on human behavior as well as the role of means and interest are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper compares the representation of the November 2017 missile test in news reports by The New York Times and China Daily. The U.S. reports embody to some extent a Cold War mindset by tending to internationalize the issue and make itself appear as a victim of the crisis. Through the attribution of blame, the U.S. seeks to evade its responsibilities and maintain its hegemonic status. The Chinese reports intimate that the crisis is mainly a problem between the U.S. and the Korean Peninsula. These reports tend to present China as a responsible stakeholder seeking to help solve the issue through communication and dialogue. The analysis of these differences is informed theoretically by perceived differences in culture. The paper concludes that the discourse patterns of these reports index a rising China and a shift in the balance of power in international politics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose--This paper attempts to apply the "Madman theory," advocated principally by Thomas C. Schelling, to Trump's "fire and fury" 2017 posture toward North Korea. The purpose is to examine whether Trump's own "Madman" game with Kim Jong Un has succeeded in bringing the latter to acquiescence in terms of concrete steps toward denuclearization, and what options or models Trump still has after pivoting to diplomacy and firing his Libyan model advocate, John Bolton. Design, Methodology, Approach--This article is a case study that seeks to apply the Madman Theory to the concrete example of Trump's bellicose rhetoric and annihilation threats against North Korea. Applying wohlsteter's melancholy paradox, and given the history lesson from the fiasco of Nixon's Madman game in Vietnam, this paper has explored why the risks of failure of Trump's game of apparent irrationality with Chairman Kim are much higher than its chances of success. Findings--Theoretically supported, Trump's Madman game in North Korea has failed because he has misused the rules of the game due to his lack of coherence and his misunderstanding of wohlsteter's melancholy paradox, and to his adversary's stubbornness. The analyses in this paper show that the only realistic option for Trump at this point is to follow the Pakistan Model, as the Libyan one is now obsolete, especially after he fired his national security advisor John Bolton. Being a considerably notable novelty in researching the Trump- Kim interaction through the prism of Schelling's Madman Theory, this work has applied a theory to a concrete case study in order to corroborate its central point that Trump will end up acknowledging North Korean nuclear status as a fait accompli. Practical Implications--Useful for undergraduate and graduate students of political science and international relations in particular, the article applies, in a comparative manner between Nixon and Trump, a theory to a case study to examine this theory's impact on a concrete example, thus corroborating the point that political science theories are indeed applicable to real life cases. Originality, Value--This article suggests a Pakistan model to resolve the North Korean nuclear conundrum. Its originality stems from the fact that much research and many decision- makers in the Trump administration are hinting to this eventual exit but very few have had the political audacity to suggest it openly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose--The purpose of this paper is to examine the DPRK's first attempts to establish itself independently within the socialist bloc, and specifically with the Eastern European "people's democracies," using the Sino- Soviet split to its own benefit. Design, Methodology, Approach--This paper is based on the recently declassified files from the former Soviet archives and from the Eastern European embassies in Pyongyang. It aims to explore and compare how North Korea used the conflict between the USSR and the PRC in attempts to lead its own policies and establish, strengthen and promote its own position with the Eastern European socialist countries. Findings--The analysis of the primary sources shows that, contrary to common perception, the DPRK in the 1960s attempted to conduct its own foreign policy toward the European "fraternal countries" and to pursue policies that were not dictated by Moscow and/or Beijing. Practical Implications--This research is helpful for understanding the DPRK's foreign diplomacy methods and position toward the socialist bloc and the Sino- Soviet split in the first half of the 1960s. Originality, Value--Bringing some of the primary sources to scholarly attention for the first time, this paper provides an insight into the DPRK's diplomatic efforts in the first half of the 1960s, not simply toward the main participants in the Sino- Soviet split but also toward the Eastern European socialist countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose-This paper seeks to address China's cooperation and limitations in sanctioning North Korea. This study goes beyond the majority of existing research which discusses North Korea's nuclear sanctions in the context of China's foreign policy or policies concerning the Korean Peninsula in the Northeast Asian order. Design/Methodology/Approach-In this paper, China's perception, interest, and the institutional environment surrounding North Korea's nuclear pursuit have been chosen as main factors of analysis. Findings-While perception and interests pose fundamental influence on state behavior, an institutional foundation is needed for China to project its actions or preferences. In short, cooperation with international sanctions was made possible with China's changing perception of the nuclear regime, increase in relevant interests, and evolution of the domestic institutional environment. Practical Implications-however, the same factors may also work to hinder future Chinese cooperation. Concerned parties must consider these precariously inter-related factors in order to garner further Chinese support for sanctions on North Korea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Purpose--As an authoritarian country that exercises rigid censorship, North Korea presents significant challenges to data-gathering for research in international relations. This paper aims to outline how source triangulation can help to overcome some of these challenges. Design, Methodology, Approach--This study draws on the author's observations of academic scholarship on North Korea that has been undertaken through the use of source triangulation. This study examines chronological data triangulation, perspectives-based data triangulation, and methodological triangulation as means of analyzing trends in the study of North Korea. Findings--Proper application of source triangulation as an instrument of research can enable scholars to find ways to circumvent some of the challenges in gathering data on North Korea. Although the author emphasizes that source triangulation should not be seen as a panacea, it does provide scholars with possible alternative lines of research inquiry. Practical Implications--other scholars may find this text useful in planning their research strategy in undertaking scholarship on North Korea. Originality, Value--This paper builds on work by other North Korea scholars as well as the author's own experience in applying source triangulation as an instrument of social science research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The year 2010 witnessed an escalation of tensions on the Korean peninsula through two military crises. The rise in tensions can be explained by neorealism as a shifting distribution of power in the region and a small state preserving its national security. The paper argues that neorealism is not sufficient to explain the patterns and routines of crisis escalation and crisis resumption on the Korean peninsula and the North East Asian region. By focusing on the causes of conflicts neorealism fails to identify the consequences of these inter-state tensions for the evolution of an anarchical society of states in the North East Asian region. The paper provides an alternative interpretation of recent inter-Korean crisis escalation and crisis resolution in the East Asian region through the work of Hedley Bull. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to analyse the aftermath of Kim Jong Nam’s assassination on the diplomatic relations between Malaysia and North Korea along with the historical evolution of diplomatic relations between both countries since Malaysia’s independence. Little is known about the nature of diplomatic relations between Malaysia and North Korea, especially when public perceptions dictate that both countries barely share any similarities. In appreciating the implications of the murder case from the perspective of international law, an analysis is carried out on the history of diplomatic relations between Putrajaya and Pyongyang. A further study is conducted on the factors which attract Malaysia and North Korea to forge and strengthen their diplomatic relations. Malaysia’s inclusive foreign policy is highlighted via her participation in the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) in 1970 which promotes peaceful engagement with all countries regardless of their political allegiance, including the Communist-led regime in North Korea. The task of preserving regional safety and bolstering economic prosperity are top on Putrajaya’s priority list. With the volume of bilateral trade between Malaysia and North Korea is steadily increasing and Pyongyang’s continuous provocations of her Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD), peaceful engagements with the aim of repairing the damaged diplomatic relations is the best option for both countries. This study concludes that although the relationship between the two nations are severed, it is crucial for Malaysia to consider reviving and enhancing bilateral relations with North Korea, hence benefiting Putrajaya in outlining Malaysia’s future foreign policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Article Type: Research Paper Purpose--This article uses illustrative cases involving North Korea as a way of comparing competing claims about the sources of the "Asian peace"--the lack of interstate wars in Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific since 1979. Design, Methodology, Approach--The accounts selected are "near-miss" crises where war in Korea was plausible, even elevated above normal, but nevertheless did not occur. The article compares three such crises based on deviant-case reasoning to observe how North Korea's experience--a country whose foreign relations cannot be explained prima facie by the dominant ways of accounting for the absence of interstate war in Asia--informs scholarly understanding of the Asian peace. Findings--U.S. forward military presence and its alliance with South Korea--and the deterrence these factors made possible--are by far the strongest explanations for why the Asian peace has endured in the most negative sense. Paradoxically, it is the emphasis on deterrence in US, North Korean, and South Korean foreign policy that creates the conditions for recurring crisis and prevents deeper forms of peace from taking hold. Practical Implications--The threat North Korea poses to the Asian peace is partly contingent on the threat it perceives from the United States and South Korea. This means that while deterrence is a necessary bulwark against the outbreak of war, any strategy that fails to look beyond deterrence will perpetually hold the Asian peace at risk. Originality, Value--This article acts as a bridge between Asian-peace and security studies research. It shows that not only does Asian-peace research need to stress layered, multicausal interpretations of the absence of war; it also shows the value of deviant-case analysis for the larger research program. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

India's "backstage" relationship with the DPRK is an important case study from not only a historical perspective, but also as an insight into successful diplomatic relations. As one of the few countries with strong ties in both Koreas, India is a relevant example of how to "manage North Korea" as the United States normalizes diplomatic relations with Cuba and Iran. The lessons of India's past can be applied to contemporary times. The analysis of this relationship regarding solely North Korea has yet to be formalized and explored in an academic sense. With only a handful of substantive pieces written, it is important to review the diplomatic ties between these two nations from a "how to" perspective and understand the best way to utilize their future relations based on their history, including from the US perspective. With next to no formal academic research on the DPRK-India diplomatic ties outside of a few short think-tank articles, this paper will allow researchers to be more aware of this blossoming affiliation, relevant literature and ever-growing importance for the future of the DPRK. This paper facilitates discussion and interest between the two nations as the DPRK continues to define itself under Kim Jung Un's rule; additionally regarding the current US perspective in relation to Cuba and the Iran Nuclear Deal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper summarizes the political directions Pyongyang has displayed in its nuclear diplomacy for the past ten years in a time sequential manner. The particular focus has been on Pyongyang's insistence on maintaining various options to choose from and its political ability to materialize them. The study has looked into North Korea's major policy transitions and the changes in position prominently demonstrated in its diplomacy with the U.S., China, and South Korea. During the period studied, Pyongyang has shown flexible attitudes, which include: 1) its radical transition from aggressive nuclear and missile capacity building to returning to the negotiation table; 2) its transition of the main issue from demanding corresponding security measures to demanding sanctions relief; 3) its transition of the up-front goal from showing off its retaliation deterrence capacity to strike the U.S. mainland to completion of nuclear war-fighting capabilities in the regional arena; and 4) its transition from hedging against China, focusing on its possible negotiation with the U.S.; to hedging against the U.S.; focusing on its possible closer ties with China. Such flexibility has been quite successful as a way to realize the strategic objectives that North Korea wanted to achieve in the first place. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Digital transformation, a phenomenon that reshaped the modern society, presents, among others, a medieval peculiarity - a various number of states have established an ideal from obtaining the sovereignty over the fifth operational domain. Now, this ideal is equivalent with the attainment of a certain level of power or control. In this vein, state actors with advanced cyber-related capabilities, with a thorough, solid knowledge of the phenomena, principles and rules that govern this field, respectively with possibilities for significant development of the related technological aspects, performed important demarches in order to ensure a level of sovereignty as higher as possible over their own cyberspace, in the same time with the support of continuous efforts, sometimes conjugated, of undermining the occidental hegemony over this domain. In this context, in the present paper a laconic incursion (with possibilities of subsequent development) will be realized, in the area of the activities that have been performed, until now, by states like the People’s Republic of China, the Russian Federation, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and the Islamic Republic of Iran. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Article Type: Research paper Purpose--Economic reform in North Korea is a controversial issue. Previous studies have frequently considered reform likely or unlikely. However, the country's ideological position and practical politico-economic problems, which together form a basis of potential reform, are seldom incorporated into the discussion. Methodology--This paper analyzes some of the historico-institutional limits and critical politico-economic failures of the regime, which simultaneously serve to weaken Kim fong-Un's hold on power. The paper highlights the potentialities for reform found in North Korea's own ideological framework, while demonstrating some of the recent and practical signs of policy change. As a result, the paper focuses on analyzing the reasons that serve to make this decision inevitable. Findings--This paper finds that economic reforms are feasible. However, their scope and intensity will be limited. They will also be much less substantive than the international community's expectations, primarily because of the domestic politicoeconomic climate and the state's ideological character. Practical Implications--The analysis provides a historical and contextual framework through which economic reforms in North Korea can be considered. Originality--This paper draws on experience gained from a decade of diplomatic missions to North Korea, while bolstering these experiences with archival research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]