North Korea’s nuclear summitry [What Think Tanks are thinking]

Written by Marcin Grajewski,

The US President, Donald Trump, and North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, are preparing for a high-stakes summit on the latter country’s nuclear programme, following Trump’s decision on 1 June to revive the meeting after having cancelled it the previous week. At the summit, due to take place on 12 June in Singapore, Trump is expected to press for denuclearisation of North Korea in exchange for easing economic sanctions and, possibly some aid. The main sticking point lies on the meaning the two countries attribute to the word ‘denuclearisation’. Pyongyang, after years of isolation, is engaged in an unprecedented series of high-level meetings with South Korea, China and Russia.

This note offers links to reports and commentaries from some major international think-tanks and research institutes on the North Korean nuclear programme. More reports on the topic can be found in a previous edition of ‘What Think Tanks are thinking’, published in September 2017.

Birds of different feathers: Why the North Korea and Iran problems require distinct solutions
European Council on Foreign Relations, May 2018

The Trump–Kim summit and the future of US strategy in Asia
International Institute for Strategic Studies, May 2018

Can the Trump-Kim summit be rescheduled?
Council on Foreign Relations, May 2018

Canceled summit doesn’t spell end to U.S.-North Korea nuclear diplomacy
Rand Corporation, May 2018

Back to the future: North Korea policy returns to business as usual
Center for a New American Security, May 2018

Not quite back to the drawing board with North Korea
Cato Institute, May 2018

A historic moment
China Institute of International Studies, May 2018

With summit off, United States needs to think through its North Korea strategy
Atlantic Council, May 2018

What’s next for nuclear negotiations with North Korea?
United States Institute of Peace, May 2018

Trumps Lehrstunde
Leibniz-Institut Hessische Stiftung Friedens- und Konfliktforschung, May 2018

Why Trump’s cancellation of the North Korea summit may undermine the US-South Korea alliance
Chicago Council on Global Affairs, May 2018

Putin and North Korea: Exploring Russian interests around the peninsula
Australian Strategic Policy Institute, May 2018

Kim Jong Un is better off now than he was before Trump agreed to a summit
German Marshall Fund, May 2018

Korea summitry: Avoiding catastrophic failure and catastrophic success
Council on Foreign Relations, May 2018

On-again, off-again Korean summit
International Institute for Strategic Studies, May 2018

A step-by-step plan for denuclearizing North Korea
Brookings Institution, May 2018

Cognitive bias and diplomacy with North Korea
Council on Foreign Relations, May 2018

What if North Korea makes an offer Trump can’t refuse?
Cato Institute, May 2018

The inter-Korean summit: Peace is not, yet, at hand
European Council on Foreign Relations, May 2018

Why North Korea is not Libya
Atlantic Council, May 2018

Trump should stay strong on North Korea, but be wary
Hoover Institution, May 2018

Making the most of North Korea’s mixed motives
Council on Foreign Relations, May 2018

Are the stakes higher now for the U.S.–North Korea summit?
Center for Strategic and International Studies, May 2018

China’s clear and present conundrum on the Korean peninsula: Stuck between the past and the future
Chatham House, May 2018

The Korean civil-military balance
Center for Strategic and International Studies, May 2018

Who wants a deal more: North Korea or the United States?
Center for American Progress, May 2018

U.S. decision on Iran unlikely to affect North Korea talks
Brookings Institution, May 2018

U.S. trade, North Korea policies bring Asia’s biggest economies to table
Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, May 2018

To make history at North Korea summit, Trump should prepare like Reagan did for Gorbachev
Hoover Institution, May 2018

With Kim Jong Un, there’s no ‘win-win’
American Enterprise Institute, May 2018

Historic summit at Panmunjom
Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, May 2018

The gathering health storm inside North Korea
Center for Strategic and International Studies, May 2018

North Korea’s nuclear weapons and Australia’s national security
Australian Institute for International Affairs, May 2018

North Korea’s military capabilities
Council on Foreign Relations, April 2018

Neutralizing a nuclear-armed North Korea
Heritage Foundation, April 2018

North Korea and the ANZUS Treaty
Australian Strategic Policy Institute, May 2018

Summit showcases the diplomatic agility of both Korean leaders
Chatham House, April 2018

Avoiding a Korean Calamity: Why resolving the dispute with Pyongyang requires keeping the peace
Cato Institute, April 2018

Preparing for U.S.-North Korea talks
Rand Corporation, April 2018

Crisis and new political agenda for the Korean peninsula and the regional powers
Institute of World Economy and International Relations of the Russian Academy of Science, March 2018

The other side of the North Korean threat: looking beyond its nuclear weapons and ICBMs
Center for Strategic and International Studies, March 2018

More than a nuclear threat: North Korea’s chemical, biological, and conventional weapons
Center for Strategic and International Studies, March 2018

The China–North Korea relationship
Council on Foreign Relations, March 2018

Centripetal and centrifugal forces of North Korean threat on the U.S.-Japan-ROK Cooperation
Vrije Universiteit Brussel, March 2018

What will Kim Jong Un want and what he might give
Rand Corporation, March 2018

Low-cost options for airborne delivery of contraband into North Korea
Rand Corporation, March 2018

Japan’s view of the North Korean threat
Istituto Affari Internazionali, March 2018

Flagging down North Korea on the High Seas
Royal United Services Institute, March 2018

John Bolton: Surrender is not an option
Peterson Institute for International Economics, March 2018

Read this briefing on ‘North Korea’s nuclear summitry‘ on the Think Tank pages of the European Parliament.