North Korea’s alleged sinking of a South Korean ship could have been part of a legitimization process to prepare for a new leader to succeed the ailing Kim Jong-Il, says North Korea expert Victor C…

Amid Tehran’s fresh assertions of its right to pursue uranium enrichment, CFR’s Ray Takeyh says the widening split in Iran’s political system casts greater doubt on prospects for nuclear talks with t…

Korea expert Victor D. Cha says effective implementation of the UN sanctions imposed on Pyongyang in June prompted recent conciliatory gestures from the regime. He says the United States might resume…

Mohamad Bazzi, former Middle East bureau chief for Newsday, says there will likely be more haggling ahead of a new deadline for Lebanon’s political parties to agree on a compromise candidate to becom…

Gary Samore, a North Korea expert, says he believes Pyongyang will close down its Yongbyon reactor. But he says it will be difficult to proceed further because of North Korea’s continuing desire to b…