Podcast
The Impossible State
Hosted by CSIS | Center for Strategic and International Studies · EN
North Korea is the Impossible State. Each episode, join the people who know the most about North Korea for an insiders’ discussion with host Victor Cha about one of the United States’ top national security priorities.
14episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Cold Peace: Engaging DPRK to Reduce Risk and Threat
1w ago00:45:40Tap to summarizeIn this episode, Mr. Sydney Seiler moderated a discussion with Ambassador Joseph Yun and Mr. Adam Farrar to examine the new frameworks proposed in Dr. Victor Cha’s recent Foreign Affairs article, “North Korea as It Is: The Case for a Cold Peace,” and to explore how the international community might engage North Korea, acknowledge the reality of its nuclear status, mitigate and reduce risks, and potentially establish a peaceful environment that could eventually lead to some form of denuclearization.
Transcribe →Privileged But Powerless
3w ago00:35:07Tap to summarizeIn this episode, Dr. Victor Cha and Dr. Jieun Baek discussed her new book, Privileged but Powerless: How North Korean Elite Grievances Reveal the Regime’s Greatest Weakness, and examined how grievances among North Korea’s elites may shape the regime’s future stability and security, while also exploring new approaches to addressing the North Korean threat.
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Korean Messiah
4w ago00:37:38Tap to summarizeIn this episode, Dr. Victor Cha moderated a discussion with Jonathan Cheng on how the surprising ties between the Kim dynasty and American Christianity shaped North Korea’s leadership, and how power, belief, and narrative intersect in the hermit kingdom, influencing dynamics in Northeast Asia and the broader international landscape.
Transcribe →Is the Pivot to Asia Dead?
Apr 2300:39:39Tap to summarizeIn this episode, Dr. Victor Cha moderated a discussion with Dr. Zack Cooper and Dr. Kristi Govella on examining Washington’s failed pivot to Asia, expectations for Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi’s visit to Washington, and its potential impact on the Korean Peninsula, the Indo-Pacific region, and broader regional dynamics.
Transcribe →The BTS Homecoming: Does Korea's Soft Power Work?
Apr 800:29:01Tap to summarizeIn this episode, Dr. Victor Cha moderated a discussion with Dr. Jinaeng Choi and Timothy Martin to discuss the recent BTS comeback concert, how Korean culture around the world can impact Korea's soft power, how it may influence global audiences, and more.
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The Four Talent Giants
Mar 200:40:04Tap to summarizeIn this episode, Mr. Sydney Seiler moderated a discussion with Stanford University Professor Gi-Wook Shin on his recent book, The Four Talent Giants, and how these four “talent giants” countries achieved economic power and sustained momentum by responding to risks and challenges such as demographic crises, brain drain, and geopolitical tensions, drawing on his Four Bs theory—brain train, brain gain, brain circulation, and brain linkage—to explain national strength and success.
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Korea Update: NDS, Coupang and Congress
Feb 1300:40:35Tap to summarizeIn this episode, Dr. Victor Cha moderated a discussion with Adam Farrar and Igor Khrestin on the recent Coupang investigation, the key elements of Trump’s National Defense Strategy, what that means for South Korea and for any future response to North Korean threats, and more.
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North Korea in 2026: Intentions, Realities, and Response
Feb 200:47:31Tap to summarizeSydney Seiler, Dr. Patrick Cronin, Rachel Minyoung Lee, and Markus Garlauskas discussed North Korea's direction in 2026 and what to expect from Kim Jong Un in terms of the diplomatic front with Moscow, Beijing, the ROK, the U.S., and more.
Transcribe →Recalibrating U.S.-ROK Alliance: Strategic Priorities for 2026
Jan 1600:42:50Tap to summarizeIn this episode, Mr. Sydney Seiler moderated a discussion with Dr. Chansong Lee and Dr. Bee Yun Jo of the Sejong Institute on the overall outlook of the U.S.–South Korea alliance leading up to 2026, including extended deterrence, the Nuclear Consultative Group, the OPCON transfer, shipbuilding, and other strategic issues.
Transcribe →Is North Korean Denuclearization Dead?
Dec 900:44:30Tap to summarizeOn this episode, Dr. Victor Cha moderates a discussion with Amb. Cho Byung Jae and Dr. Jun Bong-geun on North Korea’s nuclear program and the future of diplomacy. The episode explores Pyongyang’s constitutional embrace of nuclear weapons, Seoul’s E.N.D. initiative to revive dialogue, and President Trump’s push for summitry.
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