North Korea in 2019: A year of strategic adjustment

Abstract

This was a year of transition in North Korea, as leader Kim Jong Un held firm to his strategic shift of putting "all efforts"into economic development in the face of ongoing international sanctions. Kim's summit diplomacy with the US and South Korea stalled, while ties improved markedly with China and modestly with Russia. The US and South Korea resumed downsized joint military exercises and North Korea resumed short-range missile testing.