North Korea has posed one of the most persistent U.S. foreign policy challenges of the post-Cold War period. With recent advances in its nuclear and missile capabilities under leader Kim Jong-un, North Korea has become a grave security threat to the United States and its allies. Beginning in January 2018, North Korea launched a diplomatic campaign of engagement with South Korea, the United States, China, and other countries that produced an inter-Korean summit in late April. As of early May 2018, plans were underway for a summit between President Donald J. Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Over the first 10 months of 2018, Kim held three summits with South Korean President Moon Jae-in, three with Chinese President Xi Jinping, and one with President Donald Trump, in Singapore in June 2018. This activity produced a number of agreements, though questions remain about their sustainability. Below is a selective list of CRS products covering North Korea, followed by a list of CRS experts and their contact information.

CRS has several types of general distribution products:

• CRS Insights are 1,000-word discussions, often written in the manner of a blog, designed to provide information and analysis for a short time period.
• CRS In-Focus products are two-page briefs.
• CRS Reports are full-length analyses.
• CRS Congressional Distribution Memoranda are prepared for a focused audience or for a specific event (for example, documentation for a conference committee or a markup). These are available to Members of Congress and their staff from the author, by request.

In addition to the products listed below, a number of CRS products on other countries (e.g., U.S.-Taiwan relations) may discuss those countries' relations with North Korea. For more, see CRS.gov or contact one of the authors below.

Products Covering 2018 North Korea-Related Issues

CRS In Focus IF10246, U.S.-North Korea Relations, by [author name scrubbed] and [author name scrubbed]

CRS In Focus IF10467, Possible U.S. Policy Approaches to North KoreaInsight IN10916, The June 12 Trump-Kim Jong-un Summit, by [author name scrubbed] and [author name scrubbed] CRS Insight IN10974, The September 2018 Inter-Korean Summit, by [author name scrubbed] and [author name scrubbed]

CRS Insight IN10916, The June 12 Trump-Kim Jong-un SummitIN10987, North Korea Diplomacy: October 2018 Status Report, by [author name scrubbed] and [author name scrubbed]

CRS Report R45033, Nuclear Negotiations with North Korea, by [author name scrubbed], [author name scrubbed], and [author name scrubbed]

CRS Report R45169, A Peace Treaty with North Korea?, by [author name scrubbed] et al.

CRS In Focus IF10472, North Korea's Nuclear and Ballistic Missile Programs, by [author name scrubbed] and [author name scrubbed]

CRS Report R41438, North Korea: Legislative Basis for U.S. Economic Sanctions, by [author name scrubbed] CRS Report R44994, The North Korean Nuclear Challenge: Military Options and Issues for Congress, coordinated by [author name scrubbed]

CRS Report R41438, North Korea: Legislative Basis for U.S. Economic Sanctions, by [author name scrubbed]

CRS Report R44912, North Korean Cyber Capabilities: In Brief, by [author name scrubbed] et al.

R44912, North Korean Cyber Capabilities: In Brief, by [author name scrubbed] et al.

CRS In Focus IF10467, Possible U.S. Policy Approaches to North Korea, by [author name scrubbed] and [author name scrubbed]

Related Products on South Korea-U.S. Relations

CRS In Focus IF10165, South Korea: Background and U.S. Relations, by [author name scrubbed], [author name scrubbed], and [author name scrubbed]

CRS Report R41259, North Korea: U.S. Relations, Nuclear Diplomacy, and Internal Situation, coordinated by [author name scrubbed]

CRS Report R44950, Redeploying U.S. Nuclear Weapons to South Korea: Background and Implications in Brief, by [author name scrubbed] and [author name scrubbed]

CRS In Focus IF10733, U.S.-South Korea FTA (KORUS) FTA, coordinated by [author name scrubbed]

Products on North Korea-Related Legislation

CRS Report R43835, State Sponsors of Acts of International Terrorism—Legislative Parameters: In Brief, by [author name scrubbed]

CRS In Focus IF10694, Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, by [author name scrubbed], [author name scrubbed], and [author name scrubbed]

CRS In Focus IF10805, Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATS Act) Deadlines, Time Frames, and Start Dates, by [author name scrubbed]

Archived Products on North Korea

CRS Report R41259, North Korea: U.S. Relations, Nuclear Diplomacy, and Internal Situation, coordinated by [author name scrubbed]

CRS Report RL34256, North Korea's Nuclear Weapons: Technical Issues, by [author name scrubbed]

CRS Report R43480, Iran-North Korea-Syria Ballistic Missile and Nuclear Cooperation, coordinated by [author name scrubbed]

CRS Report R40095, Foreign Assistance to North Korea, by [author name scrubbed] and [author name scrubbed]

CRS Report R43865, North Korea: Back on the State Sponsors of Terrorism List?, by [author name scrubbed] et al.

CRS Report RL31696, North Korea: Economic Sanctions Prior to Removal from Terrorism Designation, by [author name scrubbed]

CRS Report RL30811, North-South Korean Relations: A Chronology of Events in 2000 and 2001, by [author name scrubbed]

CRS Report RL32743, North Korea: A Chronology of Events, October 2002-December 2004, by [author name scrubbed], [author name scrubbed], and [author name scrubbed]

CRS Report RL33389, North Korea: A Chronology of Events in 2005, by [author name scrubbed], [author name scrubbed], and [author name scrubbed]

Author Contact Information