Day: October 9, 2018

Familiar city, new lens      I landed at Taoyuan International Airport in late August 2017. Fresh out of university, I had arrived in Taipei to pursue a master’s degree at National Chengchi University (NCCU), funded by the Fulbright grant. I had done my alma mater proud by completing two undergraduate theses, being chosen for the Fulbright award, and graduating summa cum laude just that past May. I fully expected to come to Taiwan, complete my master’s degree, and then go to Washington to find work in the foreign affairs field.      But for the first few days in Taiwan, I was thrown off by jet lag, the summer heat, and generally setting up my new life as an expat. Despite this being my third time coming to Taiwan, this time felt markedly different. It finally sunk in that I was moving here, and that I was here with an expressed purpose to earn a master’s degree in Asia Pacific Studies. Over the course of my first year in grad school, I’ve learned to keep an open mind to the opportunities coming my way and cherish the time I’ve spent as a student in one of my favorite places

Introduction Since the 1980s, North Korea’s nuclear program has been a persistent source of international concern.1 These concerns gained renewed importance during the 2017-2018 North Korea nuclear crisis. Through missile tests, provocative threats, and acts of aggression, it appeared that North Korea’s antagonizing behavior had spiraled out of control. Previous bilateral and multilateral negotiation efforts had failed to achieve any lasting success. In the meantime, North Korea’s nuclear program only continued to grow stronger. North Korea’s most recent nuclear test on September 3, 2017, was the most powerful to date. Estimates claim the device yielded 120 kilotons, potentially ten times larger than the previous test almost a year prior.[2] North Korean officials claimed that the test of a miniaturized hydrogen bomb which could be loaded onto an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) was a “perfect success.”[3] While it is impossible to verify North Korea’s claim, the test was enough to arouse the fears of the international community. In response, the United Nations called an emergency meeting, culminating in an additional wave of international sanctions against North Korea. Though the US-sponsored resolution won the support of all fifteen members of the UN Security Council, it was far weaker than the US had