(Source: United Nations Photo Flickr) On March 28, 2024 and due to a veto cast by Russia, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) failed to adopt a resolution to extend the mandate of the Panel of Experts (PoE), which was established pursuant to UNSC resolution (UNSCR) 1718 (2006) to monitor (UN member states’ compliance with and enforcement of) the UN sanctions regime on North Korea. Among the five permanent and 10 non-permanent members of the UNSC, Russia was the only country that rejected the annual renewal of the multinational PoE, as China abstained. Russia’s veto will effectively end ..read more

(Source: United States Mission to the United Nations) The United Nations (UN) Panel of Experts (POE) established under UN Security Council (UNSC) Resolution 1874 published its final report on March 7 of this year. Following the Russian veto of the Council resolution renewing the Panel’s mandate, the finality of that report has to be taken quite literally. This will be a loss for those interested in the health of the global nonproliferation regime, the state of the UN, and stability on the Korean Peninsula. At a lower level of abstraction, students of sanctions will lose a valuable resource. Th ..read more

(Source: Official Website of the Prime Minister of Japan and His Cabinet, https://www.kantei.go.jp/jp/101_kishida/actions/202206/29nato.html) In recognition of the growing importance of the Indo-Pacific, its economic and technological prowess, and against the background of the Sino-US rivalry, NATO has intensified its relationships with partners, the Republic of Korea (ROK or South Korea), Australia, Japan and New Zealand (AP4). Issues like nonproliferation, cyber defense, science and technology, counterterrorism, interoperability, defense against chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclea ..read more

On April 2, North Korea conducted the second flight test of a solid-propellant intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM), which it designated the Hwasong-16B (HS-16B). The missile carried a hypersonic glide vehicle (HGV) payload akin to one first flown in September 2021 on a liquid-propellant booster. The booster portion of the April test appears to have succeeded, but the success of the HGV payload is unclear. The North probably considers the booster portion of the solid IRBM system ready for operational deployment, or will after one more flight test. In the near term, however, a deployed s ..read more

South Korea and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) seem destined for greater partnership. At the NATO summit in Vilnius in 2023, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg adopted the Individually Tailored Partnership Program (ITPP) that committed deepened cooperation in 11 areas ranging from non-proliferation to emerging technologies. In February, Defense Minister Shin Won-sik met with General Christopher Cavoli, commander of US European Command and Supreme Allied Commander Europe, in Seoul. They agreed to bolster cooperation between the m ..read more

(Source: Korean Central News Agency) In June 2017, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK or North Korea) announced that it had opened its own Foreign Ministry website. Although the website’s launch was announced in June, website content goes back as far as April that year. Similar to websites of other countries’ foreign ministries, it contains information on the structure of the ministry itself as well as documents, statements, and reports relevant to Pyongyang’s foreign policy. Unsurprisingly, some of the website’s content is aimed at putting the North in a favorable light. Apart fr ..read more

With less than one month to go until the South Korean general election on April 10, all eyes are on the National Assembly. The outcome of this election looks to be a referendum on the Yoon Suk Yeol government and a setup for the next presidential election in 2027. The latest polling suggests that the election will be close, with neither major party appearing to give any ground. However, things can change quickly in the coming weeks: The South Korean political landscape looks as fluid as ever with the formation of new parties and new scandalous facts being reported about the leadership of both ..read more

Commercial satellite imagery over the past few weeks indicates construction is underway at North Korea’s Kangson facility. While a recent report by NK News has suggested that this “could increase floor space for centrifuges” at what is suspected to be a clandestine uranium enrichment facility, the design of floor plans observed suggests otherwise. Given how the extension has been partitioned, these new spaces are not suitable for a centrifuge hall, but rather provide small storage rooms, workshops or offices.  The pace of this construction has been rapid, perhaps reflecting an emphasis be ..read more

Commercial satellite imagery shows an expanse of blue material on North Korea’s coastal launch pad at the Sohae Satellite Launching Station, the site used to conduct the last three satellite launch attempts. The material currently forms a “Y” shape and covers a 125-meter stretch of tarmac from just outside the entrance of the launch pad to the retractable shelter. The haphazard way it is laid out and the way it overlaps suggests it is a covering, possibly tarpaulin, not paint. Each segment of the material appears to be 47 meters long. Imagery from March 1 through March 12 reveals the same blue ..read more

In December 2014, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK or North Korea) cyber group Kimsuky conducted an attack on the Republic of Korea’s (ROK or South Korea) Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power (KHNP), leaking personal information of 10,000 employees, reactor blueprints, manuals, electricity charts, radiation methods and more. At the time of the attack, KHNP was the sole operator of the ROK’s nuclear power plants, which supplied about 35 percent of the ROK’s electricity through its 23 nuclear reactors. While the attack did not directly affect power plant control systems, the case was the ..read more