The American nuclear umbrella, though focused on the DPRK, also positions Washington against one of its major great power rivals. As the US Naval War College’s Terrence Roehrig has argued, the US nuclear umbrella concurrently deters China to an extent.
Conflicting Paths to the Same Goal: Beijing, Washington and the North Korean Security Crisis
American policy and media discourse over China have recently hardened perceptibly due to several contentious issues in economics, geopolitics and security.
United States inconsistency complicates cooperation with Russia on DPRK
Setting the tone for a potential shift in the US policy of multilateral cooperation over North Korea, Joseph Yun, the US Special Representative for North Korea, visited Moscow from April 4-6.
The Russia Factor in US Policy Toward North Korea
North Korea's fifth nuclear test indicates that the country has not relented in its march toward greater nuclear capabilities. Citing the ostensible ineffectiveness of current American policy, several figures in Washington are calling for changes in the US's handling of the North Korean nuclear crisis.
International Cooperation over North Korea: Possibilities and Limitations for Russia
North Korea’s fourth nuclear test followed by an orbital rocket launch has presented the Russian Federation with another opportunity to find common ground with other global powers and demonstrate leadership in international affairs.
Nuclear-free Mongolia: A Model for Northeast Asia?
For some countries, the response to grave feelings of national vulnerability has been the acquisition of nuclear weapons. Yet the global disarmament movement, and, specifically, advocates for denuclearisation in Northeast Asia have an unlikely yet powerful model of hope – Mongolia.
Nuclear weapons, financing, and Russia’s armed forces reform
Recent Developments in Russia's Nuclear Posture
Since 2008, the Russian government has undertaken an initiative to overhaul its conventional armed forces, with a target completion date of 2020.
North Korea-Russia Rapprochement: A Setback for a Non-Nuclear Korea?
Through the second half of the twentieth century, North Korea’s communist regime managed to survive in large part thanks to the backing of its key ally, the USSR. Post-Cold War Russia later modified its position toward its old Cold War ally, and bilateral relations became damaged when the then-USSR established diplomatic ties with South Korea in 1990.