Asst. prof. @UniLeiden. Analyst @CrisisGroup. @Sino_NK & fmr. @The_Daily_NK. Dilettante translator. RT≠endorsement.
Seoul, Republic of Korea
Joined March 2012
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Christopher Green retweeted
Kim Jong-un made a surprise one-day trip to China on October 24, crossing the New Yalu River Bridge into Dandong.
@CSIS @sydseiler told @VictorDCha it wasn’t about the bridge, but about these three things:
1⃣ The “head-on breakthrough”
2⃣ The CRINK is working
3⃣ Ties forged in blood
Watch here: youtu.be/a0dYa481OOc
Also, the story here is not that North Korea has begun moving guns into position. Various guns have been nearby for decades, usually hidden from view. The story is that now they want you to see the guns.
This is the story, and a moderately important one. The “visible from Starbucks at Aegibong” version of the story is AI-generated fakery.
North Korean howitzer guns spotted close to border with South Korea
trib.al/vDLwMnp
Christopher Green retweeted
Swiss foreign minister to hold talks in North Korea this week reut.rs/4yTuBmw
Korean War cemetery just outside Pyongyang; museum to our boys in Ukraine; museum to shared sacrifice of our boys and the CPV in Dandong.
A significant video worth watching to understand how Pyongyang is portraying the state of DPRK-PRC relations through state media. The displays marking the Resist the US and Aid Korea and CPV support to the KPA war reinforce "alliance forged with blood" messaging, complementing efforts marking DPRK contributions to Russia's war effort.
Christopher Green retweeted
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un made a surprise visit to Dandong, China, crossing the border via the newly opened New Yalu River Bridge.
Chinese state media said Wang Huning, China’s fourth-ranked leader, accompanied Kim and conveyed greetings from President Xi Jinping.
The four-lane bridge linking Sinuiju and Dandong was completed in 2014 with Chinese funding but sat unused for 12 years before officially opening on October 15 amid warming ties.
I completely agree with @paulmorley19. It was absolutely ludicrous not to give anything, of course, but would probably have been harsh to send him off.
"Kim has given his imprimatur to bilateral trade by crossing the New Yalu River Bridge to enter China [...] That bridge was for more than a decade a symbol of how dysfunctional bilateral relations could become." reuters.com/world/china/nort…
This is all highly predictable. All China and North Korea did was open a new bridge. They didn't take the politics out of bilateral relations, much less sign a free trade agreement. New bridge? Old problems. dailynk.com/english/new-yalu…
Christopher Green retweeted
My department - @ucdpolitics - is hiring two PERMANENT posts in any area of politics, intl relations, theory, or development studies.
Please apply if you are on the academic job market & if you're not please spread the word!
Deadline NOV 9
my.corehr.com/pls/ucdrecruit…
Excellent news, congratulations!
Welcome if true, most certainly.
「가디언(Guardian)」의 10.6자 “Fuel from South Korea being shipped to Russia as Ukraine war grinds on(우크라이나 전쟁 장기화 하 한국발 대러 연료 운송)” 제하 기사 관련 아래와 같이 설명드립니다.
「가디언」보도에서 언급된 상업용 경유, 항공유 등 석유 정제제품은 우리의 대러 수출통제 품목에 해당하지 않습니다. 따라서, 「가디언」 측도 보도했듯이 우리 항구에서의 석유 정제제품 선적은 우리 국내법 위반에 해당하지 않습니다.
아울러, 경유 등 한국산 연료의 수출여부도 확인된 사실이 아닙니다. 또한, 선박이 신고서상 최종 목적국으로 바로 이동하지 않고 다른 국가로 이동했다는 사실만으로 목적지 허위 신고 혐의가 있다고 단정하기는 어렵습니다. 이에 대해, 우리 정부는 선박의 실제 운항 경로, 신고서상 목적국 상이 여부와, 상이하다면 그 이유 등을 추가 확인하여 국내법 위반 여부를 판단할 예정입니다.
우리 정부는 「가디언」에서 보도된 선적 사례 관련 추가 정보를 확인하고 있으며, 확인 결과 우리의 법령 위반 사실이 확인될 경우 법에 의거하여 조치할 계획입니다. 우리 정부는 앞으로도 국제사회의 책임있는 일원으로서 대러 수출통제를 엄정하게 이행하고, 우회 수출 방지를 위한 점검 노력을 강화하겠습니다.
더 자세한 내용은 보도설명자료(링크)를 참고해주시기 바랍니다.
mofa.go.kr/www/brd/m_24815/v…
Christopher Green retweeted
1/ A few clarifications, as some coverage is reading the government's statement as a rebuttal of our story on shipments from Korea to Russia. It isn't.
The government is saying there were no "exports" but it has never said there were no "shipments".
My latest for the Guardian: South Korea says it will act under the law if it finds that fuel shipments from its ports to Russia broke domestic law, responding to a Guardian report on the trade.
theguardian.com/world/2026/o…
However, SK hardline positioning vis. UKR isn’t likely to result in maintaining the initiative at home. The initiative is arguably already long gone. And as NK never tires of saying, it wants permanent separation. That could change, but prob. not bec. of anything SK may do…
Christopher Green retweeted
🧵Good article👇, but IMO, ideology is playing an underdiscussed, background condition role in the S Korea-Ukraine flap
- So far explanations for the Lee Jae-Myung administration’s quite sharp position on UKR have focused on political (falling poll numbers),legal (NKs' unique
1
Ukraine's war strategy is creating problems for Seoul far beyond the battlefield — from North Korean escalation risks to fuel shortages and Kazakhstan's dependence on Russian energy routes.
koreapro.org/2026/10/lee-zel…
Christopher Green retweeted
The core of the issue is the allegation that Ukraine broke some expectation of confidentiality. This just isn't true. FM Cho was briefing the transfer to the Korean media in June.
This isn't a difficult case. South Korea is in the wrong.
