Monthly Archives: November 2020

The Korean situation changed significantly with the 1991 collapse of communism in general and the Soviet Union in particular. Except for brief and halting attempts in the 1970s, the DPRK had never sought to integrate itself into the larger international community. North Korea was satisfied with its position within the communist community, where it could successfully play the Soviets against the Chinese. In this game, the Soviets and the Chinese provided the DPRK with political and military protection and, more importantly, they sustained economic support at no cost to the North Koreans. By the latter half of the 1980s, however, this DPRK advantage began to decline as the Sino–Soviet competition dissipated and neither communist giant needed to maintain North Korea as a pawn in their rivalry. Continue reading →