April 28, 2026  |  View in Browser

While the world’s attention has been commanded by the war in Iran, a rupturing transatlantic alliance, and the forward march of artificial intelligence, a trio of articles in our latest issue considers a consequential place that has been conspicuously absent from the headlines: North Korea. In the past five years, the secretive authoritarian state has experienced a remarkable geopolitical reversal of fortune. Jung H. Pak explains how North Korean leader Kim Jong Un transformed himself from a global pariah into a global power player. Oriana Skylar Mastro warns that the growing relationship between Moscow and Pyongyang is making the Korean Peninsula a more dangerous place. And Victor Cha makes the case for a U.S. strategy to manage the new North Korean threat. Together, they show how North Korea could play a major role in the next global crisis. Start reading below.  

How North Korea Won

The Strange Triumph of Kim Jong Un

By Jung H. Pak

Kim’s Dangerous Liaisons

Russia, China, and the Growing North Korea Threat

By Oriana Skylar Mastro

North Korea as It Is

The Case for a Cold Peace

By Victor Cha