I will speak on North Korea at the next Fred Talk, December 4. Fred Talks are riveting and awesome, plus you meet amazing people there. And they get great pizza. The event will be at 5 Crosby Street, #5H in Soho. Plan to arrive before 7pm. Bring your own beer. For pizza, bring $5. See you Sunday!

I have to be careful in this post. Parts of it will sound distasteful so some. But the basic idea is the same as witness protection programs for criminals. As a society we have decided that at times we will protect criminals for their cooperation to achieve more important outcomes. North Korea’s decision-makers are not criminals (everything they do is probably legal). I’m just using the analogy to explain. I[…] Keep reading →

One place I could see changing things in North Korea is its relationship with China. I’m sure the lack of knowledge I show in this post will make me look ignorant, but I’ll share anyway. Most of what I know about relations between China and North Korea come from three sites The Council on Foreign Relations’ report The China-North Korea Relationship The Council on Foreign Relations’ report The Six-Party Talks[…] Keep reading →

I’ve described a system where when all actors act in their interests, everybody loses, except perhaps a few dozen decision-makers in North Korea. I’ve described what I think won’t substantively change the situation in North Korea. Yesterday I wrote about what wouldn’t change things. One of the greatest lessons I learned in business school applies here, as well as to all so-called moral problems: If the system leads to only[…] Keep reading →

Before suggesting ideas that I believe can change things, I’ll post some things I think won’t change much in the long term. I pointed out what appears the dominant strategy for North Korean decision-makers Stabiility: to maintain its geographical dominance Loyalty: to maintain its support from its citizens All other decisions are subordinate to this strategy or irrelevant. I expect the North Korean government will resist any action that threatens[…] Keep reading →

I have found people outside North Korea quick to express feelings of moral outrage, indignation, and injustice by judging North Korean leaders. They call them monsters, bad, evil, and so on. I have found such judgment counterproductive to influencing others (as well as my own well-being). If you don’t like what’s happening there and want to change it, expressing judgment may make you feel better, but you sacrifice ability to[…] Keep reading →

Last post I pointed out the stakes to individual North Korean decision-makers. That perspective implies North Korean decision-makers are part of a larger system they have little control over and have little choice not to follow their roles within it without grave risk to themselves and everything they care about. With so little choice, what do they want? What do they pursue? Of course they want material prosperity and security,[…] Keep reading →