►In 2022, there was a significant shift in North Korea’s nuclear doctrine as Kim Jong-un began to imitate Vladimir Putin’s nuclear gambits and renounce his country’s “no-first-use” policy toward nuclear weapons ►The unstoppability of North Korea’s testing campaign has generated active nuclear debates in South Korea, with politicians and pundits openly calling for South Korea’s nuclear weapons dev...

► North Korean nuclear and missile programs have been developed and sophisticated in such a manner as to present a significant threat to Korea’s national security. A strategic response to these weapon systems is without doubt a necessity. Nonetheless, the tenet of such a response must be compliance with international law because the international legal assessment of certain acts of a state determines the leg...

►  Within six weeks of each other, North Korea and the United States announced new policies governing their nuclear weapons. ►  By choosing to emulate certain aspects of U.S. nuclear policy and diverge from others, North Korea is attempting to simultaneously demonstrate a willingness to escalate a conflict early and asymmetrically with nuclear weapons to deter superior South Korean and U.S. forces wh...

► The question then becomes how the global political situation has remolded the North's foreign policy, what potential consequences this could have, and how South Korea and the US might better respond to an increasingly emboldened and assertive North Korea. ► It is of paramount importance that South Korea and the US continue to strengthen their combined defense posture with a focus on bolstering US e...

► As of November 16, North Korea had conducted or attempted 76 missile tests this year—more than in the last five years combined. This massive program of missile launches has left many wondering why North Korea has changed its tune—and why now? ► All of this testing is occurring now in part because Pyongyang is taking advantage of current geopolitical tensions. The war in Ukraine and the resultant widenin...

► North Korea's repeated provocations draw attention to deterrence and defense. For the first time since the division of the peninsula, a North Korean ballistic missile landed below the Northern Limit Line (NLL) near the territorial waters of the ROK (Republic of Korea). ► As of now, the key is to increase the effectiveness and reliability of extended deterrence, including the US nuclear umbrella. ► A fun...

► North Korea’s intensive missile launches in early October are unlike any of its previous missile tests. These launches were not aimed at the technological development of its missile capability. Rather, they were offensive nuclear weapons exercises carried out by North Korea’s tactical nuclear operations command.   ► In short, now, South Korea must check its conventional deterrence capabilities ...

► Recently, North Korea launched a series of assorted missiles equipped to carry tactical nuclear weapons and has been threatening South Korea with late-night flights of fighter jets and a flurry of threatening artillery fire. ► But why did the North choose now to launch a series of provocations starting with tactical nuclear weapons? We can attempt to analyze North Korea's intentions based on an exa...