CRS Products and Experts on North Korea

Updated August 8, 2019 (R45056)

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. 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:

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 2018-2019 North Korea-Related Issues

2018-2019 Summits

CRS Insight IN11153, North Korea: What 18 Months of Diplomacy Has and Has Not Achieved, coordinated by Mark E. Manyin

CRS Insight IN11067, The February 2019 Trump-Kim Hanoi Summit, coordinated by Mark E. Manyin

CRS Insight IN11023, A Possible Second U.S.-North Korea Summit: What Diplomacy Has and Hasn't Achieved, by Mark E. Manyin and Emma Chanlett-Avery

CRS Insight IN10974, The September 2018 Inter-Korean Summit, by Mark E. Manyin and Emma Chanlett-Avery

CRS Insight IN10916, The June 12 Trump-Kim Jong-un Summit, by Mark E. Manyin and Mary Beth D. Nikitin

Background

CRS In Focus IF10246, U.S.-North Korea Relations, by Emma Chanlett-Avery and Mark E. Manyin

CRS Report R41259, North Korea: U.S. Relations, Nuclear Diplomacy, and Internal Situation, coordinated by Emma Chanlett-Avery

CRS Report R45033, Nuclear Negotiations with North Korea, by Emma Chanlett-Avery, Mark E. Manyin, and Mary Beth D. Nikitin

CRS Report R45169, A Peace Treaty with North Korea?, by Emma Chanlett-Avery et al.

CRS In Focus IF10472, North Korea's Nuclear and Ballistic Missile Programs, by Mary Beth D. Nikitin

CRS Report R41438, North Korea: Legislative Basis for U.S. Economic Sanctions, by Dianne E. Rennack

CRS Report R44994, The North Korean Nuclear Challenge: Military Options and Issues for Congress, coordinated by Kathleen J. McInnis

CRS Report R44912, North Korean Cyber Capabilities: In Brief, by Emma Chanlett-Avery et al.

CRS In Focus IF10467, Possible U.S. Policy Approaches to North Korea, by Emma Chanlett-Avery and Mark E. Manyin

Related Products on South Korea-U.S. Relations

CRS In Focus IF10165, South Korea: Background and U.S. Relations, by Mark E. Manyin, Emma Chanlett-Avery, and Brock R. Williams

CRS Report R44950, Redeploying U.S. Nuclear Weapons to South Korea: Background and Implications in Brief, by Amy F. Woolf and Emma Chanlett-Avery

CRS In Focus IF10733, U.S.-South Korea (KORUS) FTA, coordinated by Brock R. Williams

Products on North Korea-Related Legislation

CRS Report R43835, State Sponsors of Acts of International Terrorism—Legislative Parameters: In Brief, by Dianne E. Rennack

CRS In Focus IF10694, Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, by Dianne E. Rennack, Kenneth Katzman, and Cory Welt

CRS In Focus IF10805, Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATS Act) Deadlines, Time Frames, and Start Dates, by Dianne E. Rennack

Archived Products on North Korea

CRS Report RL34256, North Korea's Nuclear Weapons: Technical Issues, by Mary Beth D. Nikitin

CRS Report R43480, Iran-North Korea-Syria Ballistic Missile and Nuclear Cooperation, coordinated by Paul K. Kerr

CRS Report R40095, Foreign Assistance to North Korea, by Mark E. Manyin and Mary Beth D. Nikitin

CRS Report R43865, North Korea: Back on the State Sponsors of Terrorism List?, by Mark E. Manyin et al.

CRS Report RL31696, North Korea: Economic Sanctions Prior to Removal from Terrorism Designation, by Dianne E. Rennack

CRS Report RL30811, North-South Korean Relations: A Chronology of Events in 2000 and 2001, by Mark E. Manyin

CRS Report RL32743, North Korea: A Chronology of Events, October 2002-December 2004, by Mark E. Manyin, Emma Chanlett-Avery, and Helene Machart

CRS Report RL33389, North Korea: A Chronology of Events in 2005, by Emma Chanlett-Avery, Mark E. Manyin, and Hannah Fischer

Table 1. CRS Experts on North Korea

Issue

Name

Phone

Email

General North Korea issues, including overall U.S. North Korea policy

 

Mark Manyin

[phone number scrubbed]

[email address scrubbed]

 

Emma Chanlett-Avery

[phone number scrubbed]

[email address scrubbed]

North Korea's military capabilities and the U.S. military response

Nuclear Capabilities

Mary Beth Nikitin

[phone number scrubbed]

[email address scrubbed]

Missiles and Missile Defense

Mary Beth Nikitin

[phone number scrubbed]

[email address scrubbed]

Cyber Capabilities

Catherine Theohary

7- 0844

[email address scrubbed]

U.S. Military Planning

Kathleen McInnis

[phone number scrubbed]

[email address scrubbed]

Sanctions

 

Dianne Rennack

[phone number scrubbed]

[email address scrubbed]

Legislation relating to North Korea

 

Dianne Rennack

[phone number scrubbed]

[email address scrubbed]

North Korea's economy

 

Mark Manyin

[phone number scrubbed]

[email address scrubbed]

North Korea-China relations

 

Susan Lawrence

[phone number scrubbed]

[email address scrubbed]

Note: For requests in other topic areas, please contact CRS Inquiry ([phone number scrubbed]).

Author Contact Information

Mark E. Manyin, Specialist in Asian Affairs ([email address scrubbed], [phone number scrubbed])