Best Defense

Thomas E. Ricks' daily take on national security.

NoKo watch

Besides what I saw in Team America, I don’t know much about North Korea — since 9/11, I’ve been busy elsewhere. But people who do keep an eye on Pyongyang are raising eyebrows over the noises out of there this morning. John McCreary’s NightWatch is alarmed by the regime’s demand in a party newspaper for ...

Besides what I saw in Team America, I don't know much about North Korea -- since 9/11, I've been busy elsewhere. But people who do keep an eye on Pyongyang are raising eyebrows over the noises out of there this morning. John McCreary's NightWatch is alarmed by the regime's demand in a party newspaper for support from its people. "When a Communist Party organ – Rodong Sinmun is the mouthpiece of the Korean Workers' Party – makes an appeal to the people to support the regime, that signifies an existential threat," McCreary, a veteran DIA analyst, observes. Stay tuned. This might surpass Pakistan as Obama's first crisis.

Besides what I saw in Team America, I don’t know much about North Korea — since 9/11, I’ve been busy elsewhere. But people who do keep an eye on Pyongyang are raising eyebrows over the noises out of there this morning. John McCreary’s NightWatch is alarmed by the regime’s demand in a party newspaper for support from its people. "When a Communist Party organ – Rodong Sinmun is the mouthpiece of the Korean Workers’ Party – makes an appeal to the people to support the regime, that signifies an existential threat," McCreary, a veteran DIA analyst, observes. Stay tuned. This might surpass Pakistan as Obama’s first crisis.

Thomas E. Ricks covered the U.S. military from 1991 to 2008 for the Wall Street Journal and then the Washington Post. He can be reached at ricksblogcomment@gmail.com. Twitter: @tomricks1

More from Foreign Policy

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping give a toast during a reception following their talks at the Kremlin in Moscow on March 21.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping give a toast during a reception following their talks at the Kremlin in Moscow on March 21.

Can Russia Get Used to Being China’s Little Brother?

The power dynamic between Beijing and Moscow has switched dramatically.

Xi and Putin shake hands while carrying red folders.
Xi and Putin shake hands while carrying red folders.

Xi and Putin Have the Most Consequential Undeclared Alliance in the World

It’s become more important than Washington’s official alliances today.

Russian President Vladimir Putin greets Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.
Russian President Vladimir Putin greets Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.

It’s a New Great Game. Again.

Across Central Asia, Russia’s brand is tainted by Ukraine, China’s got challenges, and Washington senses another opening.

Kurdish military officers take part in a graduation ceremony in Erbil, the capital of Iraq’s Kurdistan Region, on Jan. 15.
Kurdish military officers take part in a graduation ceremony in Erbil, the capital of Iraq’s Kurdistan Region, on Jan. 15.

Iraqi Kurdistan’s House of Cards Is Collapsing

The region once seemed a bright spot in the disorder unleashed by U.S. regime change. Today, things look bleak.