Is a Cold Peace with North Korea Possible?
From State of Play by Center for Strategic and International Studies
May 7, 2026 · 42 min
About this episode
The episode discusses the challenges of achieving a Cold Peace with North Korea and explores potential strategies for U.S. policy.
North Korea has resisted decades of international denuclearization efforts, including the world’s most crippling sanctions regime. Victor Cha and Sydney Seiler join Will to discuss why U.S. strategy has failed, how the strategic landscape has shifted and increased North Korea's leverage, and what a better strategy would look like. Victor Cha, “North Korea as It Is: The Case for a Cold Peace,” Foreign Affairs, May/June 2026. Sydney Seiler, “North Korea in 2026: Intentions, Realities, and Response,” CSIS, February 2, 2026.
People in this episode
Host: Will
Guests: Victor Cha, Sydney Seiler
Topics covered
- North Korea
- U.S. strategy
- denuclearization
- international relations
- Cold Peace
- geopolitics
Keywords
- North Korea
- denuclearization
- U.S. strategy
- Cold Peace
- Victor Cha
- Sydney Seiler
- geopolitics
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Foreign Affairs, CSIS
Places: North Korea
More episodes of State of Play
- How Should the United States Counter the CRINK Axis? · June 12, 2026 · 47 min
- Is Ukraine Turning the Tide? · June 4, 2026 · 35 min
- Is Something Big About to Happen with North Korea? · May 29, 2026 · 35 min
- What Can Negotiations Between Lebanon and Israel Achieve? · May 26, 2026 · 34 min
- What did the Trump-Xi Summit Achieve? · May 15, 2026 · 59 min
- Has the Iran War Transformed the Middle East's Future? · April 22, 2026 · 53 min
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the State of Play podcast page.