Research reports and analysis

The conservative People Power Party's candidate Yoon Suk-yeol narrowly won South Korea's presidential election on 9 March 2022 with a final voting count of 48.56% of the electorate. His main opponent, Democratic Party's Lee Jae-myung, received 47.83% of the votes. Lee conceded defeat in the early mo...

Congress is currently discussing the inclusion of women in the current NDAA. Read the OSF brief summary of specific references to the inclusion of women in the National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2022 (NDAA, P.L. 117-81).

Except for the fourth nuclear test in 2016, January has traditionally been a calm month in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). However, a total of seven missile tests made January 2022 the busiest calendar month in the country's history of missile testing. The launch of a Hwasong-12 in...

State media of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) reported on 12 January 2022 that the Academy of Defence Science had tested a hypersonic missile on 11 January 2022. This is the first missile launch in which DPRK leader Kim Jong Un has been officially confirmed as having been present s...

The 4th Plenary Meeting of the 8th Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) was held in Pyongyang from 27 to 31 December 2021. This paper provides a description of the Central Committee and its mandate, key takeaways from the meeting and concluding observations.

State media of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) reported on 6 January 2022 that the Academy of Defence Science had tested a hypersonic missile on 5 January 2022. This is an initial analysis based on available information.

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) has been developing nuclear-capable submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) and ballistic missile submarines. While numerous articles about the test launch activities and the ballistic missile submarines exist, there appears to be a lack of disc...

In 2020 and 2021, new construction work was observed in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) near the Chamjin missile factory and the site of the suspected uranium enrichment facility in Kangson. The Chamjin missile factory is one of the key factories of the DPRK's defence sector and has...