Prospects for Relations with North Korea

About this episode

The episode discusses the prospects for relations with North Korea, focusing on diplomatic engagement and security concerns.

February 3, 2026 - Join us for a program examining prospects for relations with North Korea, including US-Republic of Korea (ROK) alliance coordination, inter-Korean relations, the impact of North Korea's close relations with China and Russia, security concerns, and diplomatic opportunities. It is expected that North Korea's Workers' Party of Korea will hold its Ninth Party Congress in January or February. This important gathering occurs approximately once every five years and is likely to result in the announcement of important policy positions that could possibly create space for the US and South Korea to pursue diplomatic engagement. How should the ROK and the US proceed and what are the prospects for decreasing threats from North Korea's extensive nuclear program? To unpack these developments, we assemble an expert panel with decades of experience working on and dealing directly with North Korea, including: Keith Luse , Executive Director of the National Committee on North Korea, Ankit Panda , Stanton Senior Fellow in the Nuclear Policy Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and author of The New Nuclear Age: At the Precipice of Armageddon , Rachel Minyoung…

People in this episode

Host: Jonathan Corrado

Guests: Keith Luse, Ankit Panda, Rachel Minyoung Lee, Susan A. Thornton

Topics covered

• North Korea relations
• US-ROK alliance
• inter-Korean relations
• diplomatic opportunities
• nuclear program
• security concerns

Keywords

• North Korea
• US-ROK alliance
• diplomacy
• nuclear threats
• inter-Korean relations
• policy positions
• expert panel

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: National Committee on North Korea, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Stimson Center, National Committee on American Foreign Policy

Places: North Korea, United States, Republic of Korea

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