For decades, North Korea has been framed as unpredictable, irrational, and perpetually on the brink of crisis. Missile launches, nuclear tests, and sudden diplomatic reversals often reinforce the perception of a regime driven by impulse rather than strategy. Yet this narrative obscures a more complex reality. Beneath the dramatic headlines lies a system that calibrates…
Rachel Minyoung Lee is a Senior Fellow for the Stimson Center’s Korea Program and 38 North. She is also co-chair of the North Korea Economic Forum, which is part of the policy program at the George Washington University’s Institute for Korean Studies (GWIKS). Lee was a North Korea collection expert and analyst with Open Source…
This episode with Rachel Minyoung Lee examines the evolving risk landscape surrounding North Korea, moving beyond headlines focused solely on nuclear escalation to explore the country’s broader strategic behaviour. We discuss how Pyongyang balances military signalling with pragmatic decision making, why weapons tests and military exercises are often calibrated rather than impulsive, and how sanctions, limited trade,…
In this episode of The International Risk Podcast, Dominic Bowen speaks with Doug Livermore, Senior Vice President at CenCore Group and Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Army’s Special Operations Command, about the accelerating cooperation between authoritarian regimes and the risks this poses to international stability. Drawing on his extensive experience in special operations, irregular warfare,…
Today Dominic Bowen hosts Doug Livermore on the podcast to discuss the rise of authoritarian alliances. They dive into the growing cooperation between China, Russia, North Korea, Iran, and their proxies, the economic and military dependencies that underpin these relationships, how authoritarian regimes leverage propaganda and “unrestricted warfare,” the role of countries like Venezuela, Sudan, and the…
