Deconstructing the US’ ‘hostile policy’ toward North Korea – Ep. 264

The U.S. and North Korea seem incapable of moving past the status quo, with neither side willing to concede to the other’s demands of either complete denuclearization, complete sanctions relief, or some combination of the two. The two countries haven’t spoken in years and appear no closer to a breakthrough despite several summits and other engagements from 2018 to 2019. To Simone Chun, a researcher in Northeast Asian political affairs, the U.S. is largely to blame for this stalemate and has perpetuated a hostile policy toward Pyongyang since before the Korean War and ever since. She joins the NK News Podcast to discuss why the Trump-Kim summits did not lead to lasting change, the legacies of U.S. imperialism on the peninsula, the momentum of the military-industrial complex, the cause-and-reaction cycle of U.S.-ROK “war games” and North Korean missile tests, why the shared culture, history and bonds the two Koreas have are the best hope for peace in the future, and more. Dr. Simone Chun (@SimoneChun) has over 30 years of teaching and research experience in U.S. foreign policy. She has served in various academic and research roles at Suffolk University, Northeastern University and Harvard. Her other affiliations include the Korea Peace Network, CodePink, the Alliance of Scholars Concerned about Korea and the Korea Policy Institute. About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.