In this episode, Andrew and CSIS's Victor Cha discuss how South Korea is battling COVID-19 and the innovative strategies they took to prevent a wider spread of the virus. Victor also gives insight into what is and isn't known on how North Korea is responding to the global pandemic, noting their recent missile tests. This is a crossover episode with The Truth of The Matter.

The Impossible State

COVID-19 in North and South Korea

In this episode, Andrew talks with resident North Korea experts Victor Cha and Sue Mi Terry about Bong Joon-ho’s “Parasite.” The Oscar-nominated film offers a candid commentary on income inequality within South Korean society.

Parasite

In this episode, H. Andrew Schwartz and CSIS Korea Chair Victor Cha talk with Seth Berkman, contributing editor at The New York Times. They discuss Berkman’s new book “A Team of Their Own,” which tells the story of the Unified Korean women’s hockey team from the 2018 PyeongChang Games.

A Team of Their Own

This bonus episode comes from CSIS's Beyond Parallel Living History video series. We invite former South Korean Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Song Min-soon to discuss global efforts to denuclearize North Korea during the six-party talks. Minister Song was the director general for North American affairs and chief delegate during the six-party talks in 2005. He played a key role in the September 2005 multilateral denuclearization agreement with North Korea, involving the U.S., Japan, South Korea, China and Russia.

Bonus Episode: Living History with Minister Song Min-soon

In this episode, Andrew talks with resident North Korea expert Victor Cha, and Dr. Kang Choi, acting president of the Asan Institute for Policy Studies. They discuss North Korea’s recent missile launch, South Korea-Japan relations, and more.

Soft Diplomacy, Hard Stance

In this episode, Andrew talks with resident North Korea experts Victor Cha and Sue Mi Terry about the failed U.S.-North Korea Stockholm talks and what they mean for the stalled nuclear negotiations.

The Perfect Storm

In this episode, Andrew and Dr. Victor Cha welcome a special guest. Dr. Katrina Katz is the Adjunct Fellow in the Office of the Korea Chair at CSIS. From 2007 to 2008, Dr. Katz served as director for Japan, Korea and Oceanic Affairs on the U.S. National Security Council. They discuss various factors of the on-going South Korea-Japan trade dispute, which direction it might go, and what role the U.S. could play in it all.

Revenge Politics

In this episode, Andrew and CSIS’s Victor Cha welcome Anna Fifield, Beijing Bureau Chief of the Washington Post. Fifield is the author of the recent biography, The Great Successor: The Divinely Perfect Destiny of Brilliant Comrade Kim Jong Un. They discuss the challenges of reporting on a reclusive state, the recent Trump-Xi summit, and the future of the relationship between the U.S. and North Korea. (Recorded from remote locations on Friday, June 21, 2019.)

Piecing Together the North Korean Jigsaw Puzzle

In this second-ever live episode, students of CSIS Korea Chair Victor Cha’s “Modern Asia” class join host Andrew Schwartz and guests for a lively discussion about the upcoming meeting between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and President Trump. Guests include Victor Cha, CSIS Korea Chair Senior Fellow Sue Mi Terry, and Kelly Magsamen, the vice president for National Security and International Policy at the Center for American Progress. Download transcript here.

Stalled Outreach and the Way Forward: Live from Georgetown University

In this first live episode of The Impossible State, four esteemed guests join host H. Andrew Schwartz to discuss the latest Trump-Kim summit in Hanoi. Panelists included former US Ambassador to South Korea Alexander Vershbow, CSIS Korea experts Victor Cha and Sue Mi Terry, and Washington Post White House reporter David Nakamura.

Getting Worse Before It Gets Better: Live from CSIS

Dr. Michael Green, Senior Vice President for Asia at CSIS, joins host Andrew Schwartz to discuss the aftermath of the latest Trump-Kim summit, and reactions from U.S. allies in the region. Download transcript here.

No Deal

In this episode, host H. Andrew Schwartz and CSIS Korea Chair Victor Cha invite Dr. Stephen Noerper to preview the second Trump-Kim summit. Stephen Noerper is the Korea Society senior director for policy and education, a Columbia University adjunct professor, and senior advisor to the United Nations programme in support of cooperation in Northeast Asia.  Download transcript here.

Countdown to Round II

In this episode, experts discuss the upcoming Trump-Kim summit in Hanoi. CSIS's Korea Chair, Victor Cha, and host H. Andrew Schwartz welcome Dr. Ramon Pacheco Pardo, a lecturer at the London Asia Pacific Centre for Social Science, and a committee member of the EU’s Council for Security Cooperation in the Asia-Pacific. Pardo offers the view from Europe. 

The View from Europe

Tom Karako, senior fellow with the International Security Program and director of the Missile Defense Project at CSIS, joins resident Korea expert Victor Cha and host Andrew Schwartz to discuss the 2019 Missile Defense Review. They also discuss the annual Worldwide Threat Assessment and how North Korea’s threat will play out as President Trump is expected to meet with Kim Jong-un next month.

The Worldwide Threat Assessment and the Missile Defense Review

David Sanger of the New York Times and resident Korea expert Victor Cha weigh in on the recent CSIS findings of 16 hidden missile bases in North Korea. They discuss David Sanger’s article on the matter, and how the Trump administration has responded to these findings. Download transcript here.

A Great Deception

North Korea is the Impossible State. Each week join the people who know the most about North Korea—The Center for Strategic and International Studies’ Victor Cha, Mike Green, and Sue Mi Terry—for an insiders discussion with host H. Andrew Schwartz about the United States’ top national security priority. Email your questions to ImpossibleState@csis.org.

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The Impossible State

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