

The Impossible State
CSIS | Center for Strategic and International Studies
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.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Apr 25, 2020 • 2sec
Questions Surrounding Kim Jong Un's Health
On July 16, 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice unsealed an indictment charging Sue Mi Terry with violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act. The indictment alleges activities that took place, in part, during a period in which Ms. Terry was employed by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. CSIS is not a party to this litigation and takes the allegations seriously. CSIS maintains strict policies to ensure full compliance with the Foreign Agents Registration Act and the intellectual independence of its scholarship. In light of these serious allegations, CSIS cannot verify the independence of the scholarship of this material containing the views of Ms. Terry and has therefore archived this content pending the resolution of the charges.

Apr 15, 2020 • 29min
Big Brother, Solutions & Widespread Distrust
In this hybrid episode of Truth of the Matter and the Impossible State, CSIS’ Victor Cha and Steve Morrison join Andrew Schwartz to discuss South Korea’s innovative systems for tracking Covid-19 and whether they can work for the United States.

Apr 1, 2020 • 23min
COVID-19 in North and South Korea
In this episode, Andrew and CSIS's Victor Cha discuss how South Korea is battling COVID-19 and the innovative strategies they took to prevent a wider spread of the virus. Victor also gives insight into what is and isn't known on how North Korea is responding to the global pandemic, noting their recent missile tests. This is a crossover episode with The Truth of The Matter.

Jan 27, 2020 • 2sec
Parasite
On July 16, 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice unsealed an indictment charging Sue Mi Terry with violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act. The indictment alleges activities that took place, in part, during a period in which Ms. Terry was employed by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. CSIS is not a party to this litigation and takes the allegations seriously. CSIS maintains strict policies to ensure full compliance with the Foreign Agents Registration Act and the intellectual independence of its scholarship. In light of these serious allegations, CSIS cannot verify the independence of the scholarship of this material containing the views of Ms. Terry and has therefore archived this content pending the resolution of the charges.

Dec 16, 2019 • 18min
A Team of Their Own
In this episode, H. Andrew Schwartz and CSIS Korea Chair Victor Cha talk with Seth Berkman, contributing editor at The New York Times. They discuss Berkman’s new book “A Team of Their Own,” which tells the story of the Unified Korean women’s hockey team from the 2018 PyeongChang Games.

Nov 14, 2019 • 10min
Bonus Episode: Living History with Minister Song Min-soon
This bonus episode comes from CSIS's Beyond Parallel Living History video series. We invite former South Korean Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Song Min-soon to discuss global efforts to denuclearize North Korea during the six-party talks. Minister Song was the director general for North American affairs and chief delegate during the six-party talks in 2005. He played a key role in the September 2005 multilateral denuclearization agreement with North Korea, involving the U.S., Japan, South Korea, China and Russia.

Nov 1, 2019 • 32min
Soft Diplomacy, Hard Stance
In this episode, Andrew talks with resident North Korea expert Victor Cha, and Dr. Kang Choi, acting president of the Asan Institute for Policy Studies. They discuss North Korea’s recent missile launch, South Korea-Japan relations, and more.

Oct 21, 2019 • 2sec
The Perfect Storm
On July 16, 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice unsealed an indictment charging Sue Mi Terry with violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act. The indictment alleges activities that took place, in part, during a period in which Ms. Terry was employed by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. CSIS is not a party to this litigation and takes the allegations seriously. CSIS maintains strict policies to ensure full compliance with the Foreign Agents Registration Act and the intellectual independence of its scholarship. In light of these serious allegations, CSIS cannot verify the independence of the scholarship of this material containing the views of Ms. Terry and has therefore archived this content pending the resolution of the charges.

Aug 23, 2019 • 26min
Revenge Politics
In this episode, Andrew and Dr. Victor Cha welcome a special guest. Dr. Katrin Katz is the Adjunct Fellow in the Office of the Korea Chair at CSIS. From 2007 to 2008, Dr. Katz served as director for Japan, Korea and Oceanic Affairs on the U.S. National Security Council. They discuss various factors of the on-going South Korea-Japan trade dispute, which direction it might go, and what role the U.S. could play in it all.

Jun 24, 2019 • 26min
Piecing Together the North Korean Jigsaw Puzzle
In this episode, Andrew and CSIS’s Victor Cha welcome Anna Fifield, Beijing Bureau Chief of the Washington Post. Fifield is the author of the recent biography, The Great Successor: The Divinely Perfect Destiny of Brilliant Comrade Kim Jong Un. They discuss the challenges of reporting on a reclusive state, the recent Trump-Xi summit, and the future of the relationship between the U.S. and North Korea. (Recorded from remote locations on Friday, June 21, 2019.)