North Korea is a mystery to nearly everyone — even those who have dedicated their lives to studying the country — including Korean experts based in Seoul, national security experts in Washington or Beijing, and a variety of foreigners who have spent extended periods studying in or reporting from the North. There is great uncertainty about what the country’s leaders really think of China, how self-sufficient the North’s economy actually is, and even the background of the “respected” leader, Kim Jong-un, beyond a few seemingly random details (he studied in Switzerland and likes basketball and Whitney Houston, for example).
Evan Osnos — former Beijing correspondent for the New Yorker and now the magazine’s correspondent in the currently far more unpredictable capital of the U.S. — recently travelled to the Hermit Kingdom and reported an extensive cover piece for that magazine: “The risk of nuclear war with North Korea.”
What are the prospects for war and peace in northeast Asia? Evan talked with Jeremy and Kaiser about his conversations with North Korean, Chinese, and U.S. government officials and people involved in the complicated regional powerplay.
Recommendations:
Jeremy: Jeeves & Wooster, a comedy TV series adapted from the P.G. Wodehouse books about a gormless English aristocrat and his very bright butler, played by Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry, respectively. It’s “really a wonderful escapist pleasure [for] when you don’t feel like thinking about Donald Trump and North Korea,” Jeremy adds.
Evan: The Great Leader and the Fighter Pilot, a book by Blaine Harden that explains how North Koreans think about the Korean war — an essential piece of the current conundrum we all face.
Kaiser: China in Disintegration, by James Sheridan, a narrative history of the Republican Era (1912-1949) in China. Events during the period such as the Republican Revolution and the May Fourth Movement are key to understanding modern China.
Takeaways from China’s 19th Party Congress, with Bill Bishop and Jude Blanchette
The China-Africa relationship, a decade after its blossoming
Authoritarian schooling in Shanghai vs. the American approach
A conversation with Chinese adoptees in the U.S.
Alarm bells in the ivory tower: Jim Millward on the Cambridge University Press censorship fiasco
Richard McGregor on the complicated ties between China, Japan, and the U.S. since World War II
China in drag: Michael Bristow discusses his new book on China’s — and one man’s — incredible transformation
China’s tightening grip on cyberspace
China’s environmental challenges: Overfishing, toxic soil, and unbreathable air
U.S.-China relations after six months of Trump, with Susan Shirk and Stan Rosen
Of dirty words and Party-speak: Sinica Podcast live in D.C.
Gillian Wong and Josh Chin on journalism careers in China
China’s great spiritual revival
Joan Kaufman on foreign nonprofits and academia in China
Straight talk on North Korea and China, with Lyle Goldstein
China’s Asian power play: Tom Miller on the future of Belt and Road
Jerome A. Cohen on human rights and law in China
Guo Wengui: The extraordinary tale of a Chinese billionaire turned dissident, told by Mike Forsythe and Alexandra Stevenson
David Rank, top U.S. diplomat, on why he resigned to protest Trump
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