Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- April 20, 2018

Economic development, albeit slow, is evident in Pyongyang's changing urban landscape, writes Heydarian [Al Jazeera/Richard Javad Heydarian]

Richard Javad Heydarian, Al Jazeera: North Korea is changing

I visited North Korea with an official delegation and here's what I saw and learned.

Earlier this month, I had the chance to visit North Korea as part of a delegation of scholars led by veteran Indonesian diplomat Dino Djalal. I spent four days in the country talking to high-level officials and professors and visiting the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) at the country's southern border and various institutions, including Km Il-sung University. Touring North Korea, albeit under careful supervision and only for a few days, was quite revealing.

While in the West, pundits and officials have speculated about how much new sanctions have affected the country, in Pyongyang, it was clear to me that they are yet to threaten the foundations of the regime or pressure the North Korean leadership to alter their national security doctrine.

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Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- April 20, 2018

North Korea Won't Sell Nuclear Material to Terrorists -- Matthew Reisener, National Interest

Kim Jong-un has a maximum pressure and engagement strategy of his own. Why talk of a North-South peace treaty is more of the same -- Jung H. Pak, Brookings

Trump Is Not Nixon and North Korea Is Not China -- Eli Lake, Bloomberg

Syria in 2018 is not Iraq in 2003 -- Muhammad Idrees Ahmad, Al Jazeera

Trump Should Follow His Instincts and Get Out of Syria -- Jerrod A. Laber, RCD

U.S.-Led Strikes in Syria—What Was the Point? -- Daniel DePetris, RCD

Syria, Iran and ‘chaos in international relations’ -- Pepe Escobar, Asia Times

Caspian games: Central Asian ‘stans’ vie for connectivity market -- Pepe Escobar, Asia Times

Macron and the federalists are losing Europe’s battle of ideas -- Kai Weiss, CAPX

Russia Accidentally Sabotages Its Internet -- Kimberly Zenz, Daily Beast

Castro bows out in Cuba but Cold War chill returns with U.S. -- Sarah Marsh, Frank Jack Daniel, Reuters

This Is Not the 'End of an Era' in Cuba -- Ana Quintana, The Atlantic

How Jim Mattis Became Trump’s “Last Man Standing -- Susan B. Glasser, New Yorker

The West’s Crisis of Confidence -- Carl Bildt. Project Syndicate

Surprise: Russia-Saudi Oil Alliance Could Push Prices Down -- Meghan L. O'Sullivan, Bloomberg