Skip to content
Search
Human content, AI powered search.

Latest Stories

News

North Korea: Shaking Things Up

North Korea: Shaking Things Up
Willis Sparks
By Willis SparksApril 18, 2019
Willis Sparks
Willis Sparks is a senior editor for GZERO Daily. He is also a Director in the Global Macro practice at Eurasia Group, where he has worked since 2005. He has made speeches on international politics on every continent except Antarctica. Willis holds degrees from Brown University, the Juilliard School, Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs, and the Institut d'Etudes Politiques in Paris. He also holds an honorary degree from the Moscow Art Theatre School. A native of Macon, Georgia, Willis has worked as a stuntman at New York's Metropolitan Opera. As a child, he declined an opportunity to spend an afternoon riding the Great American Scream Machine, a rollercoaster, with Ronald McDonald, for money. He has never regretted that decision.
See Full Bio
Make us preferred on Google

Kim Jong-un wants to remind the world—and Donald Trump in particular—that he remains an unsolved problem.

On Thursday, North Korean state-run media claimed the DPRK's military has test-fired a new type of "tactical guided weapon," its first weapons test in months.

Then the North Korean government insisted that President Trump remove Secretary of State Mike Pompeo from future nuclear negotiations and replace him with someone "more careful and mature in communicating with us." (Kim clearly didn't like Pompeo's infamous "knock-knock" jokes.)

Upshot: Kim probably calculates that his bid to lift US sanctions and attract international investment in exchange for vague promises on "denuclearization" has ground to a halt, and that he has little to lose by shaking things up. But his insistence that the US approach future negotiations with a "new attitude" and his latest bid to bang pots and pans for international attention suggest Mr. Kim still has much to learn about how to draw a positive response from Donald Trump.

Latest Videos

Democrats’ midterm sweep is a rebuke of Trump’s presidencyplay icon
ask ian

Democrats’ midterm sweep is a rebuke of Trump’s presidency

Will the US midterm elections bring a blue wave?
Quick Take

Will the US midterm elections bring a blue wave?

Can Europe keep Ukraine in the fight?
GZERO World Clips

Can Europe keep Ukraine in the fight?

Europe under threat from Russia
GZERO World with Ian Bremmer

Europe under threat from Russia

MBS CONFRONTS Trump!
Puppet Regime

MBS CONFRONTS Trump!

Who has the upper hand in the Ukraine war?
GZERO World Clips

Who has the upper hand in the Ukraine war?

More For You

Three takeaways from the US midterm elections

Supporters react after media outlets projected Democratic US Senate candidate and Texas State Representative James Talarico's victory in the US midterm elections in Austin, Texas, US, November 3, 2026.

Supporters react after media outlets projected Democratic US Senate candidate and Texas State Representative James Talarico's victory in the US midterm elections in Austin, Texas, US, November 3, 2026.

REUTERS/Mike Segar
In the end, the long-predicted “blue wave” turned into a tsunami as the Democrats, harnessing widespread frustrations over high living costs, opposition to the war in Iran, and misgivings about Trump’s deportation policies, swept back to power on Capitol Hill.Team Blue reclaimed control not only of the House of Representatives, but the Senate too. [...]

A night of historic firsts

A night of historic firsts
Natalie Johnson
Last night’s wins were not only pivotal but also broke multiple glass ceilings in American politics. There were at least ten historic firsts: Abdul El-Sayed will be the first Muslim to serve in the Senate.Keisha Lance Bottoms will be the country’s first-ever Black woman to serve as governor.Chris Pappas will be the first openly gay man to serve in [...]

South Africans head to the polls, Meloni wants to keep wealthy people in Italy, Russia’s return to the ice draws causes controversy

Election posters of South Africa's African National Congress (ANC) and other political parties are displayed on street poles ahead of South Africa's municipal elections on November 4, in Pretoria, South Africa, October 29, 2026.

Election posters of South Africa's African National Congress (ANC) and other political parties are displayed on street poles ahead of South Africa's municipal elections on November 4, in Pretoria, South Africa, October 29, 2026.

REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko
South Africans vote in pivotal local elections Voters in Africa’s wealthiest country have a pivotal election of their own today, with over 250 local contests nationwide. The elections are widely seen as a referendum on the African National Congress (ANC), the party that has governed South Africa since the end of apartheid, amid frustration over [...]

The midterms: Races that could decide the Senate

The midterms: Races that could decide the Senate
Eileen Zhang
If predictions hold, Democrats are on track to win a majority of seats in the House. The real battle today is for the Senate, where Republicans currently hold 53 seats. Democrats need a net gain of four seats to hold a true majority, since Vice President JD Vance can cast a tie-breaking vote in their favor. We’ve put together a cheat sheet of 11 [...]