Marcus Noland outlines two recent surveys of North Korean refugees in China and South Korea which found, not surprisingly, that North Koreans privately hold highly critical views of the regime and are rather miserable.

An incident involving a sunken South Korean naval vessel has highlighted the ongoing tensions with North Korea and ongoing potential for naval confrontations between the two sides, says CFR's Scott Snyder.

If North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il visits China as reportedly scheduled, he will be urged to return to Six Party Talks. But the U.S. and North Korea are at a standoff, says CFR Korea expert Scott Snyder, with North Korea demanding a peace treaty and the United States insisting on denuclearization.

This report from the International Crisis Group provides an overview of the existing humanitarian crisis in North Korea and how tightening sanctions and domestic problems have deepened the DPRK human security tragedy.

The global effort to extinguish the nuclear peril needs to regain momentum. A bold act of leadership and imagination by one of the weapons-states could provide it.

This CRS paper argues that while the West has little leverage over North Korea, China and Russia can exert pressure on the country due to their extensive trade relationships with Pyongyang.

Scott A. Snyder discusses the transition to North Korea's next generation of leadership.

Scott A. Snyder says President Obama's speech in Oslo reveals the president's views regarding North Korea-related issues.

In Comparative Connections, Scott A. Snyder and See-Won Byun detail how China takes two different approaches to North and South Korea.

Scott A. Snyder argues, "... any progress in the U.S.-DPRK relationship and in inter-Korean relations is likely to be mutually reinforcing."

Scott A. Snyder and See-Won Byun discuss the implications of potential political instability in North Korea.

Carolyn Leddy examines the international community's options for disrupting North Korea's illicit activities.

Evans Revere, an expert on Northeast Asia, says after U.S. special envoy Stephen Bosworth's recent trip to Pyongyang, North Korea may potentially reopen the door to Six Party Talks, given time.

The United States Institute of Peace examines the impact of the recent redenomination of the won on the North Korean people and regime.

By exposing them to the truth about their impoverishment and about the prosperity of their South Korean cousins, the United States can encourage North Koreans to change the regime in Pyongyang.

A report from an independent task force convened by the Asia Society Center on U.S.-China Relations and the University of California Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation argues in favor of economic engagement with North Korea that could change North Korea's "confrontational foreign policy" and its own "self interest."

Asia policy expert Michael Green says the Obama administration is taking a cautious approach to any bilateral talks on North Korea's denuclearization, noting Pyongyang's backsliding after the Bush administration adopted a softer tone.

In Comparative Connections, Scott A. Snyder and See-won Byun review recent developments toward North Korea's denuclearization.

Paul Stares writes, "North Korea's leader no longer seems lame, which opens the door to further talks that could have beneficial--if not conclusive--results."

Scott A. Snyder discusses Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's visit to Pyongyang on the sixtieth anniversary of Sino-DPRK ties.