Naoko Aoki

@naokoaoki @RANDCorporation assesses the current state of #militarycooperation between #NorthKorea and #Russia and considers options for the United States and #SouthKorea to counter the potential benefits of such cooperation. nbr.org/publication/co… #Putin #KimJongUn #UkraineWar

Can Chinese activities in the Arctic contribute to the country's intelligence and military goals? A @RANDCorporation report I was a part of examined China's scientific, information, and commercial activities for signs of transgressive behavior. rand.org/pubs/research_…

"Everyone, including Japan's potential adversaries, is looking at the role unmanned aerial vehicles are playing in [the war in Ukraine] and trying to learn from it," says RAND's @naokoaoki. japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/01/0…

Application is open for the Stanton Nuclear Security Fellowship at RAND. I was a Stanton fellow in the 2018-2019 year and can't recommend it highly enough. A great opportunity for those finishing PhDs or are junior faculty members! rand.org/jobs/stanton-f…

"We have to stop thinking of North Korea as just an isolated rogue threat," says RAND's @naokoaoki, "and start thinking of the country as an international collaborator that could cause harm to the broader international community." thecipherbrief.com/2024-10-events…

North Korea's troop deployment to Russia makes @thecipherbrief's top 10 mind-bending events of 2024. As I said earlier, we need to start thinking about North Korea as an international collaborator, not a rogue and isolated threat. thecipherbrief.com/2024-10-events…

On S4 E4 of #JapanMemo on ‘Japan and North Korea’, @naokoaoki recommends reading The Peninsula Question: A Chronicle of the Second Korean Nuclear Crisis, as it covers ‘the diplomacy surrounding the second North Korean nuclear crisis in the 2000s.

I talked to @business about South Korea's delicate balancing act over minimizing North Korea's activities related to the war in Ukraine. bnnbloomberg.ca/business/inter…

Tensions on the Korean Peninsula are rising, but that doesn't guarantee that armed conflict is on the horizon. For one thing, says @naokoaoki, "North Korea would not want to fight … when some of its troops are in Ukraine fighting someone else's war." cnbc.com/2024/10/25/rus…

I talked to @thecipherbrief about how North Korea is likely hoping that closer military ties with Russia contributes to the country's long-term strategic goal of regime survival, more influence on the Korean Peninsula. thecipherbrief.com/north-korean-d…

I talked to @joongangilbo about how a potential Harris administration will have to deal with a North Korea that is not only more militarily capable, but is also more belligerent and involved internationally. koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/2024-10-2…

In my interview tie @VOANews, I say that possible DPRK troop deployment would show new DPRK international commitment, and that we have to stop treating DPRK as an isolated threat and start treating it as an international collaborator. secure-web.cisco.com/1_sCP2UeAlP2YI…

In my piece in @TheNatlInterest , I predict that there will be more continuity than change in a potential Harris administration's North Korea policy. But broader geopolitical events that make North Korea a larger threat could lead to bolder changes. nationalinterest.org/blog/korea-wat…

The location of China's incursion into Japan's airspace may carry a message, says @naokoaoki. "China claims control over a large area of the continental shelf in the East China Sea, and China may be making a point, challenging Japan's delineation method." yahoo.com/news/japan-say…

A new US-ROK-Japan security deal "is substantial because it will deepen cooperation in important, material ways, and symbolic because it sends a message to potential adversaries about the closeness of the three countries' cooperation," says @naokoaoki. japantimes.co.jp/news/2024/07/2…

I agree that we need to see the official text of the North Korea-Russia pact. We don't know what the nature of the "mutual assistance" is yet. It will most certainly cover the munitions shipments happening now, but does it also mean automatic military intervention? We will see.

North Korea and Russia strengthened their military ties during Putin's visit to Pyongyang. Ahead of the talks, I talked to @VOANews about how Russia can help North Korea not just through technology, but also through sanctions-busting rocket fuel shipments. voanews.com/a/russian-pres…

In this Japan Memo episode, Professor Chris Hughes from @uniofwarwick, @naokoaoki and @JosephHDempsey join @RobertAlanWard to share their insights on Japan and North Korea. They discuss abductions, missiles and nuclear issues. #SLD24 | 🎧: go.iiss.org/4dFAABS

The leaders of 🇯🇵🇰🇷🇨🇳met separately ahead of their trilateral summit. China and the U.S. allies remained apart on security. I told @bpolitics the trilateral talks will not change their security calculus either, but is still important for managing ties. bloomberg.com/news/articles/…

The first Japan-China-South Korea trilateral summit since 2019 begins on Monday. "China is an important trade and investment partner for both Japan and South Korea," says @naokoaoki. "It is important for all of the countries to manage their relations." japantimes.co.jp/news/2024/05/2…