North Korea

Ukraine

Russia

Military & Security

Russia-Ukraine Conflict

South Korea's National Intelligence Service confirmed North Korea decided to send four brigades with a total of 12,000 troops to support Russia in its war with Ukraine, adding that the North Korean forces had been issued Russian military uniforms, weapons and fake identification documents, Reuters reported on Oct. 18.

North Korea, Russia, Ukraine: North Korean Forces Training in Russia To Participate in War With Ukraine

South Korea

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that North Korea was assisting Russia with military personnel and workers in Russian factories, citing Ukrainian intelligence, The Wall Street Journal reported on Oct. 16.

North Korea, Ukraine: North Korean Troops Supporting Russia's War Against Ukraine, Zelensky Says

North Korea's Defense Ministry announced that it had given military units (including artillery) near the border with South Korea preliminary operation orders to "get fully ready to open fire" if drones from South Korea incurred into the North's airspace again, Politico reported on Oct. 13.

North Korea, South Korea: North Readies Artillery Response Over South's Drones

South Korean Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun told parliamentarians during a hearing that North Korea is highly likely to deploy members of its regular armed forces to Ukraine in support of Russia, The Moscow Times reported on Oct. 8.

North Korea, Russia: Pyongyang Deploys Troops to Ukraine in Support of Russia

United States

Japan

Politics

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, on the Liberation Day holiday, revealed a new vision for unification with North Korea, Yonhap News reported Aug. 15.

South Korea, North Korea: Yoon's Unification Vision Remains A Long Shot

Economics

Former North Korean senior diplomat and defector Ri Il Gyu revealed in an interview with Reuters on Aug. 1 that North Korean supreme leader Kim Jong Un is working on a new negotiating strategy and hoped to restart nuclear talks with U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump should he return to the Oval Office following the November election.

North Korea: Defector Says Kim Open To Restarting Talks With Trump, Japan

South Korea's marine corps conducted live-fire exercises on the ​​Yeonpyeong and Baengnyeong islands, which lie west of the Korean Peninsula near the Northern Limit Line maritime border with North Korea, or NLL, Yonhap News Agency reported on June 26.

South Korea: Live-Fire Drills Around NLL Risk Escalation

Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) for a two-day state visit, which is his first official visit in 24 years, Reuters reported June 18. 

Russia, North Korea: Putin Makes First State Visit to DPRK in 24 Years

Snapshots

Portraits of Russian President Vladimir Putin (left) and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un are displayed in Pyongyang, North Korea, for Putin's visit to the country on June 20, 2024. 

Russia's deepening ties with North Korea are meant to draw U.S. attention and resources away from Ukraine by increasing the threat of conflict in another region.

The Significance of Russia and North Korea's New Defense Pact

Assessments

China

Taiwan

Global Elections

While President Biden would be expected to continue to build and strengthen alliances with America's key allies in the northern Asian region, the reelection of President Trump could spur those same allies to look beyond the U.S. for their physical and economic security.

The 2024 U.S. Presidential Elections, Northern Asia and Geopolitical Risk: What to Expect

Natsumi Sakai (C) of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan poses with others after receiving news that she won the by-election for the Tokyo No. 15 district seat for the lower house, in Tokyo, Japan, on April 28, 2024.

Recent by-elections reveal that a slush fund scandal is continuing to take its toll on Japan's ruling party, but Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is set to remain in power, for now.

By-Election Losses Shake Japan's Ruling Party, but Kishida Stays the Course

Columns

On Geopolitics

Australia

Fiji

Indonesia

New Zealand

Philippines

Singapore

Vietnam

United Kingdom

India

A 3D rendering of Southeast Asia from space at night with city lights showing Southeast Asian cities in Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia.

Environment, Science & Technology

U.S.-China Relations

Science & Technology

In the Asia-Pacific, countries are increasingly pursuing complex networks of political, economic and defense ties as part of a burgeoning "multi-alignment" strategy that seeks to avoid U.S.-China strategic competition.

Examining 'Multi-Alignment' in the Asia-Pacific

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visits the Vostochny Cosmodrome, a spaceport in Russia's Far East, on Sept. 13, 2023. 

Kim Jong Un appears to be setting a new direction for his country's regional and international policies, clearly aware of the vast uncertainties facing the global geopolitical situation.

North Korea's Foreign Affairs Hit an Inflection Point

Media

Podcasts

Cyber

How will North Korea's cyber strategy continue to evolve?

Essential Geopolitics: An Update on North Korean Cyber Activity

A North Korean flag is seen fixed on a lamp post in the far-eastern Russian port of Vladivostok on April 25, 2019. 

Access to North Korean weapons could help Moscow sustain its Ukraine invasion, while access to Russian imports and funding could help Pyongyang reduce its reliance on China.

What Russia and North Korea Stand to Gain From an Arms Deal

On Security

Ecuador

Mexico

Venezuela

Syria

Belgium

Netherlands

Seized marijuana bricks are incinerated in Guadalajara, Mexico.

While narco-states exist on a spectrum of severity, they can all have dramatic geopolitical, operational and tactical impacts that raise a wide variety of risks.

What Is a Narco-State, and Why Does It Matter?

A photo provided by the South Korean Defense Ministry on Nov. 9, 2022, shows the retrieved debris of a ballistic missile that North Korea recently fired across the two countries’ de facto maritime border. 

Its response to recent U.S.-South Korean military drills shows Pyongyang is growing more confident in its ability to manage escalation and reshape its own security environment.

The Implications of North Korea’s Shifting Deterrence Strategy

File footage of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is seen on a television screen at a train station in Seoul, South Korea, on Sept. 9, 2022. 

Seoul will likely react with its own show of force, but the risk of Chinese retaliation and restarting the Korean war will limit how far it can go. 

Gauging South Korea's Response to the North's Upcoming Nuclear Test

Iran

A Russian flag flies next to the U.S. Embassy building in Moscow, Russia, on March 18, 2021.

U.S.-Iran Relations

 In the second part of this series, we explore the risk of external meddling in next month's vote from actors like Russia, China, Iran and North Korea.

What to Expect From Disinformation Campaigns During the 2022 U.S. Midterms, Part 2

People watch a television screen showing a news broadcast with file footage of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, at a railway station in Seoul, South Korea, on Jan. 20, 2022, after North Korea hinted it could resume nuclear and long-range weapons tests. 

Pyongyang's upcoming nuclear test is unlikely to fundamentally change regional security dynamics -- so long as it's in line with previous tests.

What to Expect as North Korea Restarts Nuclear Weapon Tests

<p>The Democratic People&#39;s Republic of Korea, or North Korea, lies on a peninsula extending outward from northeast Asia. The country borders China and Russia to the north, the Republic of Korea to the south, and Japan across the sea to the east. North Korea&#39;s primary geographic challenge is securing its northern and southern borders from the threat of its much larger regional neighbors. The Kaema Plateau and Hamgyong Mountains comprise much of the northern border region, providing a strong but not unbreachable geographic barrier. The Taebaeck Mountains run along the east coast, limiting the potential for invasion from the sea. Since the time of earlier North Korean kingdoms including Koguryo, The Dandong-Sinuiju gap across the Yalu River in the northwest and the wide Imjin-Han river valley in the south leave the country vulnerable, particularly with the lack of geographic barriers along the north-south axis. North Korea&#39;s mountains do provide ample hydropower, and the country also has numerous natural mineral resources and coal, but its terrain and climate limit agricultural activity. Given its larger neighbors, North Korea has two core imperatives. It must secure its southern and northern borders via political accommodation, defensive lines or outward expansion, and it must engender a strong sense of national unity and exploit differences among its neighbors to balance external political pressure. From the launching of the Korean War to the heavily fortified DMZ, from the exploitation of relations between China and Russia to the development of a nuclear deterrent, North Korea&#39;s actions in many ways are shaped by similar constraints and pressures as felt by its predecessor kingdoms due to its location and geography.</p>

SITUATION REPORTS

North Korea, Russia, Ukraine: North Korean Forces Training in Russia To Participate in War With Ukraine

North Korea, Ukraine: North Korean Troops Supporting Russia's War Against Ukraine, Zelensky Says

North Korea, South Korea: North Readies Artillery Response Over South's Drones

North Korea, Russia: Pyongyang Deploys Troops to Ukraine in Support of Russia

South Korea, North Korea: Yoon's Unification Vision Remains A Long Shot

North Korea: Defector Says Kim Open To Restarting Talks With Trump, Japan

South Korea: Live-Fire Drills Around NLL Risk Escalation

Russia, North Korea: Putin Makes First State Visit to DPRK in 24 Years

Forecasts

ANALYSES

SECTIONS

Explore

Subscribe

Help & Support