Academic literature on the topic 'North Korea (DPRK)'

While the nuclear negotiations between the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the United States reached a stalemate in 2019, North Korea has advanced its missile capability and strengthened its alignment with China. In 2020 and beyond, the security of the Korean peninsula will depend on China’s influence on the DPRK–US game amid the US–China rivalry; the modality of Kim Jong-un’s actions, i.e. whether they are provocations or restraints; and the sanctions’ effect on North Korea’s foreign currency reserves.

Criminal law of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is not stagnant, it is developing under the influence of international community, and this dynamics is of special interest for research that analyzes changes to the Criminal Code of the DPRK with the goal of understanding if there is a trend in North Korea for getting closer to the world community. Naturally, the reclusiveness of the DPRK does not make any speedy changes in its criminal policy likely, and we can only expect an evolutionary transformation of the policy in this sphere. At the same time, there is no denying the fact that the criminal law of the DPRK is converging more and more with the international standards. The examination of the CC of the DPRK included the analysis of the following: norms-principles and norms-declarations within the law; the structure of North Korean criminal law; its specific legal institutes; the system of punishments under the CC of the DPRK; the responsibility for some types of crimes under this Code. The current CC of the DPRK, adopted in 1950 and amended fifteen times since then, fits harmoniously with the policy of the DPRK. A study of key clauses of the CC of the DPRK, which reveal the attitude of North Korean lawmakers to universally recognized legal values, showed that there is a clear indication of the DPRK’s rapproachment with the international community. It is evident that the criminal law of North Korea is improving. At the same time, although some trends observed in North Korean lawmaking can be viewed as positive from the standpoint of universally recognized legal values, some of its criminal law’s features still make it impossible to conclude that the country has radically changed its criminal policy.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Il can be criticized for many failings, but if one of his goals has been keeping his country in the global media spotlight, he has been wildly successful. Of course, North Korea gets this international attention for all the wrong reasons: military provocations, a clandestine nuclear program, a bankrupt economy, an atrocious record on human rights, and an eccentric if not deranged leadership. Some of the accusations leveled against North Korea in the Western media and popular press may have a basis in fact, others are more questionable. But until recently, substantive knowledge of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) was notable mainly for its absence. Before the 1990s, little was written about the DPRK beyond official North Korean propaganda and its opposite, anti-North Korean propaganda from the South. Much of this has changed, both because of new sources of information (including material from North Korea's former communist allies), but more importantly because of the growing interest in the subject after South Korean democratization in the late 1980s and the first US-North Korean nuclear crisis of the early 1990s.

Women account for over eighty percent of recent North Korean defectors arriving in South Korea, yet there is dearth of gender-based research. Given the speed with which the dialogue on denuclearization with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK, North Korea) has progressed since 2017, there is a surprising gap in research on possible health threats. If sanctions are eased, interactions with these previously isolated people will increase leading to potential health problems. This article reviews studies published since 2000 to understand physical and mental health faced in DPRK, among North Korean defectors to South Korea, and to provide policy recommendations. A content analysis of ninety studies found that mental health challenges are severe for North Korean defectors, and that women suffer differently than men during defection and its aftermath. We recommend a more nuanced and gendered approach for future research in order to devise tangible solutions to improve the health of North Koreans in general, and defector women and children in particular.

<div><p><em>Background</em>. Despite the style of Taekwon-Do taught by the International Taekwon-Do Federation (ITF) being founded in the Republic of Korea (ROK; South Korea), it is known predominately as “North Korean Taekwon-Do.” <em>Problem and Aim</em>. Taekwon-Do was introduced to the People’s Democratic Republic of Korea (DPRK; North Korea) in 1980, but since then no studies have reported how it is practiced in that country due to the DPRK government’s restricting access to its populace. This research aims to begin establishing if there are differences in pedagogical purpose and praxis in DPRK Taekwon-Do. <em>Methodology</em>. An internet search for individuals who traveled to the DPRK to practice Taekwon-Do specifically was conducted. A systematic literature of ITF pedagogical materials was performed, and a multipurpose, qualitative questionnaire was implemented. Out of the seven individuals who were identified and contacted, two agreed to participate in the current study; however, one of those two were disqualified due to incorrectly completing the questionnaire. A descriptive, non-experimental case study of one subject (Singaporean female aged 36 yr.) was then conducted. A qualitative analysis of the data resulting from the questionnaire and follow-up interviews was performed. <em>Results</em>. All five areas of the ITF’s curriculum (i.e., fundamental techniques, <em>tul </em>[forms], sparring, <em>dallyon</em> [forging or conditioning of the body], and self-defense) and the three levels of Taekwon-do’s pedagogy (i.e., <em>musul</em> [martial technique], <em>muyae</em> [martial artistry], and <em>mudo</em> [martial way]) were found in DPRK Taekwon-Do. <em>Discussion and Conclusions</em>. Despite the severe limitations of being unable to interview DPRK Taekwon-Do practitioners directly and the smallest small sample group possible, it was learned that DPRK instructors most likely teach all aspects of General Choi’s Composition of Taekwon-Do, and the stratified Taekwon-Do pedagogy theory was found in the subject’s practice in the DPRK.</p></div>

Since the end of the 1990s, in order to improve relations, Mongolia has intensified its engagement policy with North Korea. This article analyzes the overall development and future prospects of bilateral relations and various aspects of this policy.

Drawing on national and local news stories, newly declassified documents, u.s. prisoner of war (pow) memoirs, and popular films, this article argues that the legacy of the Korean War in the United States from 1953 to 1962 dramatically shaped how Americans imagined the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (dprk). It specifically examines how media portrayals of North Korean atrocities, the alleged misconduct of u.s. captives, and the relationship between the People’s Republic of China and the dprk affected public perceptions of “North Korea” as a subjective construct. The painful legacy of the Korean War, particularly the experience of u.s.pows, encouraged Americans to think of North Korea as an inherently violent foe and as part of a broader “Oriental Communist” enemy in the Cold War. When the experiences of u.s. soldiers contradicted these narratives, media sources often made distinctions between “North Koreans,” a repugnant racial and ideological “other,” and “north Koreans,” potential u.s. friends and allies.

This survey of books in English on North Korea, 1997–2007, identifies nearly 240 titles—mostly by US authors but also by authors in Australia, Europe, Japan, the Republic of Korea, and Russia. The books fall into eleven categories: history and culture; the Korean War revisited; the DPRK regime and its leaders; human rights and humanitarian issues; the economy: Juche, Songun, collapse, or reform; DPRK military assets and programs; relations with the United States; arms control negotiations and outcomes; regional and world security; prospects for North-South unification; and North Korea's future. A final section includes useful websites. This survey points to a wide interest in North Korea and underscores the serious and ongoing efforts of many scholars and policy analysts to understand developments there.

North Korea is notable for its isolation, yet the Korean Central News Agency’s daily editions are filled with articles outlining international admiration for Pyongyang and its leader. Is Pyongyang actively promoting soft power as an integral part of not only its survival, but its development strategy? While scholarship on North Korea tends to focus on Pyongyang’s “high profile” relations with China or Russia (Shambaugh 2003, McCormack 2004, Wu 2005) or with nations seeking to cooperate on weapons of mass destruction (Henriksen 2001), little attention has been paid to how the DPRK engages in seemingly peaceful ways with the world. This article examines the notion of hard, soft, smart and other power declensions, and applies a soft-power framework to investigate DPRK rhetoric and the development of partnerships with both states and non-state actors. It suggests that the DPRK has long pursued a strategy of diplomatic diversification, which includes a more sophisticated understanding of power than previously considered in the literature.

AbstractSince December 1997, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), the People’s Republic of China (PRC), the Republic of Korea (ROK), and the United States have met in a series of talks aimed at promoting peace and stability on the Korean peninsula and in the region. According to a November 1998 U.S. Department of Defense report, the discussions have created a “diplomatic venue for reducing tensions and ultimately replacing the Armistice Agreement with a permanent peace settlement.”1 Amidst the tragic human suffering which has occurred in North Korea, there have been some encouraging developments on the peninsula. The 1994 Agreed Framework between the United States and North Korea placed international controls on North Korea’s atomic energy program and cautiously anticipated the normalization of U.S.-DPRK relations. Since assuming power in early 1998, South Korean President Kim Dae Jung has vigorously pursued a policy of engagement with P’yo¨ngyang, known as the “sunshine policy.” Over the past decade, North Korea has also reoriented its foreign policy. In the early 1990s, the regime’s social and economic crisis led to a rethinking of its autarkic economic system. By early 1994, the state had created new free trade zones and relatively open foreign investment laws.2 By complying with the Agreed Framework, the DPRK has also shown a willingness to work with the international community on sensitive issues affecting its internal sovereignty and ability to project power beyond its borders.