Listen "The 38th Parallel"
Episode Synopsis
In this episode of GREAT POWER PODCAST, host Michael Sobolik interviews Bruce Klingner about North Korea’s nuclear program, recent developments in the U.S.-South Korea alliance, and the outlook for stability in Northeast Asia.
Guest biography
Bruce Klingner specializes in Korean and Japanese affairs as the Senior Research Fellow for Northeast Asia at The Heritage Foundation’s Asian Studies Center. Klingner’s analysis and writing about North Korea, South Korea and Japan, as well as related issues, are informed by his 20 years of service at the Central Intelligence Agency and the Defense Intelligence Agency.
Klingner, who joined Heritage in 2007, has testified before the House Foreign Affairs Committee, the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. He is a frequent commentator in U.S. and foreign media. His articles and commentary have appeared in major American and foreign publications and he is a regular guest on broadcast and cable news outlets.
From 1996 to 2001, Klingner was CIA’s Deputy Division Chief for Korea, responsible for the analysis of political, military, economic and leadership issues for the president of the United States and other senior U.S. policymakers. In 1993-1994, he was the chief of CIA’s Korea branch, which analyzed military developments during a nuclear crisis with North Korea.
Klingner is a distinguished graduate of the National War College, where he received a master’s degree in National Security Strategy in 2002. He also holds a master’s degree in Strategic Intelligence from the Defense Intelligence College and a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Middlebury College in Vermont.
He is active in Korean martial arts, attaining third-degree black belt in taekwondo and first-degree black belt in hapkido and teuk kong moo sool.
Resources from the conversation
Watch Bruce’s interview with PBS NewsHour
Read Bruce’s analysis of the recent U.S.-South Korea summit
Read Bruce’s publication about recent developments in North Korea’s nuclear program
Read Bruce’s white paper about challenges in the U.S.-South Korea alliance
Guest biography
Bruce Klingner specializes in Korean and Japanese affairs as the Senior Research Fellow for Northeast Asia at The Heritage Foundation’s Asian Studies Center. Klingner’s analysis and writing about North Korea, South Korea and Japan, as well as related issues, are informed by his 20 years of service at the Central Intelligence Agency and the Defense Intelligence Agency.
Klingner, who joined Heritage in 2007, has testified before the House Foreign Affairs Committee, the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. He is a frequent commentator in U.S. and foreign media. His articles and commentary have appeared in major American and foreign publications and he is a regular guest on broadcast and cable news outlets.
From 1996 to 2001, Klingner was CIA’s Deputy Division Chief for Korea, responsible for the analysis of political, military, economic and leadership issues for the president of the United States and other senior U.S. policymakers. In 1993-1994, he was the chief of CIA’s Korea branch, which analyzed military developments during a nuclear crisis with North Korea.
Klingner is a distinguished graduate of the National War College, where he received a master’s degree in National Security Strategy in 2002. He also holds a master’s degree in Strategic Intelligence from the Defense Intelligence College and a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Middlebury College in Vermont.
He is active in Korean martial arts, attaining third-degree black belt in taekwondo and first-degree black belt in hapkido and teuk kong moo sool.
Resources from the conversation
Watch Bruce’s interview with PBS NewsHour
Read Bruce’s analysis of the recent U.S.-South Korea summit
Read Bruce’s publication about recent developments in North Korea’s nuclear program
Read Bruce’s white paper about challenges in the U.S.-South Korea alliance
More episodes of the podcast Great Power Podcast
How China Stole Our Secrets
11/12/2025
An Accelerating AI Arms Race
13/10/2025
The Ongoing Trouble With TikTok
30/09/2025
The Scramble For The Arctic
01/09/2025
China's Inroads In The Americas
13/08/2025
Africa As Battleground
05/06/2025
Dissecting China’s “Neighborhood Diplomacy”
16/05/2025
Maneuvering In The Middle East
17/04/2025
The View From New Delhi
29/03/2025
ZARZA We are Zarza, the prestigious firm behind major projects in information technology.