September 14, 2017

China has a plan to cripple North Korea, so let's work with Beijing

The United States and North Korea are in a dangerous cycle of escalating military threats and rhetorical exchanges. The risk of a miscalculation that results in catastrophic civilian consequences and global economic shocks is high. To get off the escalatory ladder of military escalation and to build economic pressure to force change in Pyongyang, Washington should embrace both additional economic pressure and China’s so-called “freeze for freeze” proposal in which North Korea would suspend nuclear and ballistic missile tests and the U.S. would suspend large-scale joint military exercises with South Korea.

Read the full op-ed here.

  • Commentary
    • Sharper
    • August 21, 2024
    Sharper: Axis of Upheaval

    A loose but growing coalition between Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea demonstrates that their combined strategic interests have the potential to pose significant economic...

    By Anna Pederson

  • Commentary
    • The National Interest
    • August 8, 2024
    The Will and the Power: China’s Plan to Undermine Pax Americana

    From Washington’s Farewell Address to Biden’s national security strategy, the core U.S. national interest, unsurprisingly, has not changed: to ensure the fundamental security ...

    By Richard Fontaine & Robert Blackwill

  • Reports
    • April 30, 2024
    Beyond China's Black Box

    China’s foreign and security policymaking apparatus is often described as a metaphorical black box about which analysts know little. That is true to an extent, but at the same...

    By Jacob Stokes

  • Commentary
    • Sharper
    • April 3, 2024
    Sharper: Maritime Security

    The importance of securing the maritime domain is rapidly increasing. From the South China Sea to the Red Sea, the U.S. and its allies are experiencing escalating challenges t...

    By Anna Pederson & Charles Horn

View All Reports View All Articles & Multimedia