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

How will the Strait of Hormuz's closure impact food supply?play icon
GZERO Live

How will the Strait of Hormuz's closure impact food supply?

Trump and Xi consult AI
Puppet Regime

Trump and Xi consult AI

10 years after Brexit: Is the UK moving closer to the EU again?
GZERO Europe

10 years after Brexit: Is the UK moving closer to the EU again?

Why Europe isn’t falling apart despite political turmoil
ask ian

Why Europe isn’t falling apart despite political turmoil

Josh Shapiro on how Democrats can learn to love AI
GZERO World Clips

Josh Shapiro on how Democrats can learn to love AI

Trump’s ineffective pressure campaign on Iran and China
Quick Take

Trump’s ineffective pressure campaign on Iran and China

More For You

Belarus’s leader is stuck between Kyiv and the Kremlin

​Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in Moscow, Russia, on May 8, 2026.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko attend a meeting in Moscow, Russia, on May 8, 2026.

REUTERS/Ramil Sitdikov/Pool
As the war in Ukraine drags through its fifth year, Russia’s fortunes are beginning to sour. In recent months, the Ukrainian military has made its most significant gains since the summer of 2023. Kyiv’s weapons meanwhile are expanding their range, striking energy facilities deep into the heart of Russia while also pummeling the oil infrastructure [...]

Earthquake tragedy tests Delcy’s leadership, A strange Pride fixture at the World Cup, Iran strikes a ship in the Strait

​People search for casualties under the rubble of a collapsed building in Caracas following earthquakes in Venezuela, on June 25, 2026.

People search for casualties under the rubble of a collapsed building in the aftermath of earthquakes, in Caracas, Venezuela, on June 25, 2026.

REUTERS/Leonardo Fernandez Viloria
Will the earthquake shake Venezuela’s government?The death toll from the Venezuelan earthquakes continues to rise, nearing 600 by Friday morning. The US believes that figure could rise to a staggering 10,000 once all the dead are located under the rubble. The human and economic toll are immense. But as is often the case with natural disasters of [...]

Mass layoffs inbound at Volkswagen

Mass layoffs inbound at Volkswagen
This is not Fahrvergnügen. The company is set to axe one-sixth of its work force. The move reflects the tough fortunes of Germany‘s auto sector, which is under pressure from the flood of lower-cost Chinese car exports, as well as the effects of the Iran war and US tariffs. [...]

Deadly earthquakes rock Venezuela, Iraq reportedly threatens OPEC-xit, Anthropic claims Chinese firm is stealing from its model

A building damaged by earthquakes that hit the country, in Caracas, Venezuela, on June 25, 2026.

A view of the remains of a building damaged by earthquakes that hit the country, in Caracas, Venezuela, on June 25, 2026.

REUTERS/Fausto Torrealba
Deadly earthquakes hit Venezuela At least 164 people were killed and nearly 1,000 were left injured after two powerful earthquakes struck Venezuela on Wednesday evening. The 7.2 and 7.5-magnitude earthquakes were the strongest to hit the country in nearly six decades. A number of buildings collapsed, Caracas’ international airport was damaged, and [...]