Bruce Klingner specializes in Korean and Japanese affairs as the senior research fellow for Northeast Asia at The Heritage Foundation’s Asian Studies Center. Read his research
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In the waning days of his tenure, President Barack Obama is reportedly contemplating declaring a “no first use” pledge for U.S. nuclear weapons. Such a… Read More
InternationalCommentary
North Korea provocatively conducted missile tests on Wednesday, a clear warning to the United States and its allies that nuclear defense systems must remain a… Read More
InternationalAnalysis
On July 6, the Obama administration imposed sanctions on North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and other senior North Korean individuals and organizations for human… Read More
SecurityAnalysis
After a series of previous failures, Pyongyang achieved partial success with the most recent launches of its Musudan intermediate-range ballistic missile. On June 21, the… Read More
InternationalCommentary
President Barack Obama’s speech at Hiroshima was a poignant discourse on the horrors of war. He spoke eloquently of the death of innocent lives and… Read More
InternationalCommentary
History remains very much alive in East Asia. Millennia of invasions, occupations, and subjugation form the foundation for present-day perceptions. The predominant calamity for many… Read More
InternationalAnalysis
South Korea announced that it is monitoring increased activity indicative of another nuclear test at North Korea’s Punggyi nuclear test site. The South Korean Ministry… Read More
InternationalCommentary
Whoever occupies the Oval Office in 2017 will face security threats around the world—including in Asia. Stability in Asia is currently being threatened by North… Read More
InternationalCommentary
On March 16, President Barack Obama issued a new executive order imposing additional sanctions on North Korea for its repeated violations of U.S. law and… Read More
InternationalCommentary
After nearly two months of debate, the U.N. Security Council unanimously approved a new resolution (2270) to punish North Korea for its most recent violations… Read More
InternationalCommentary
In an example of how not to negotiate national security issues, Secretary of State John Kerry triggered confusion and consternation for key ally South Korea… Read More
SecurityCommentary
North Korea has again successfully put a satellite into orbit, demonstrating the same technology needed to launch an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) and showing that… Read More
InternationalCommentary
North Korea announced Wednesday that it has conducted a successful H-bomb nuclear test of a miniaturized warhead. Prior to the announcement, sensors had detected a… Read More
InternationalCommentary
North Korea announced Wednesday that its most senior official in charge of inter-Korean relations died in a car accident. Kim Yang-gon was head of the United… Read More
InternationalCommentary
South Korea and Japan reached a landmark agreement Monday to settle long-standing divisive issues resulting from Japan’s 1910-45 occupation of the Korean Peninsula. The most emotional… Read More
InternationalCommentary
Twin events over the weekend dashed tremulous predictions that North Korea was seeking to improve strained relations with South Korea and China. Pyongyang’s decisions to… Read More
InternationalCommentary
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un asserted that his country has built a hydrogen nuclear bomb to “defend its sovereignty and the dignity of the nation.”… Read More
InternationalCommentary
It had become an article of faith among the media and punditgentsia that North Korea would launch a long-range missile on Oct. 10 to celebrate… Read More
InternationalCommentary
For the second day in a row, Pyongyang raised the ante on rhetoric suggesting it might conduct a prohibited nuclear or missile test in violation… Read More
InternationalCommentary
South Korean President Park Geun-hye traveled to Beijing this week to attend events commemorating the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II. She… Read More
InternationalCommentary
SEOUL, South Korea – After marathon talks, North and South Korea have reached an agreement to defuse the rising tensions, which had created the potential… Read More
InternationalCommentary
The greatest likelihood for military conflict on the Korean Peninsula is not from a full-scale North Korean invasion, but from a series of escalatory responses… Read More
InternationalCommentary
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe commemorated the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II by releasing a highly anticipated statement to make amends to… Read More
InternationalCommentary
For decades, the U.S. and other nations have engaged in negotiations to achieve North Korean denuclearization. Pyongyang signed several agreements promising never to build nuclear… Read More
InternationalCommentary
Not that there was any doubt, but North Korea publicly rejected any interest in following Iran into denuclearization negotiations with the U.S. The North Korean… Read More
InternationalCommentary
In the past Pyongyang blamed its poor crop yield on alternating claims of cataclysmic floods and droughts that left South Korea unaffected. The reality was… Read More
InternationalSecurityCommentary
Pyongyang claimed on Wednesday that it already has developed nuclear weapons small enough to fit on missiles. The powerful National Defense Commission declared “it is… Read More
InternationalCommentary
While in South Korea, Secretary of State John Kerry lambasted Pyongyang for its pursuit of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles, flagrant disregard for international law,… Read More
InternationalCommentary
On May 8, North Korea successfully conducted its first underwater ejection test of a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM). Analysts had predicted it would be several… Read More
InternationalCommentary
Kim Jong-un continued his reign of purges, having Minister of Defense Hyon Yong-chol executed for treason and showing disrespect to the North Korean leader by… Read More
