The Strange Success of North Korea

In 2017 , North Korea found itself confronting a rare coalition of China , Russia , and the United States .

Peter Bergen : Beijing cannot afford to pressure North Korea in ways that might create instability on China ’s doorstep.

Bergen says Kim has been a distinct beneficiary of the growing antagonism between the U.S. and both China and Russia .

Russia ’s war in Ukraine has brought its own windfall to the North Korean elite.

North Korea has shipped millions of shells, along with some other weapons and ammunition, to the Ukrainian front.

Pyongyang agreed to send troops to Russia in exchange for money, food, and likely, some advanced military technologies.

The deal also reduces pressure on Putin to impose a second mobilization.

North Korea has made a full U-turn, reviving the command economy model and further building its surveillance state, writes Andrew Hammond .

Hammond: For the Kim regime, Trump ’s first term was both a threat and an opportunity.

The contours of such a deal emerged at the 2019 Trump-Kim summit in Hanoi provide a template for what Trump might attempt in his second term.