Episode Notes:

Last week, North Korea warned of a Christmas gift for President Donald Trump. Today, we talk about the renewed rhetoric and announcements of testing coming out of North Korea. We also learn a little bit about the political implications of these moves and what might come of them as we head into 2020. Our guest is Ankit Panda, senior editor at The Diplomat, adjunct senior fellow at the Federation of American Scientists, and a contributing editor at War on the Rocks.

[0:43] What’s actually happened recently in terms of North Korean tests?

[4:00] The political logic of North Korea’s activities

[6:30] How is the Trump administration reacting?

[8:52] Likelihood of escalation