How Promoting Freedom in North Korea Makes America Safer and Stronger

The “no limits” partnership between China and Russia appears to be deepening. China’s provision of weapons components has served as a lifeline for the Kremlin in its war of aggression against Ukraine. Meanwhile, the two nations’ information warfare is increasingly aligned in its anti-American and anti-Western messaging. Yet there is an asymmetry between Beijing and Moscow. Join Hudson Institute for a panel discussion on how the United States and its allies can combat the rise of this authoritarian alliance.

Both Washington and Bucharest underwent leadership changes in 2025. Less than four months after President Donald Trump’s second inauguration, Romanians elected a new president, who soon formed a new government. Hudson will welcome a key member of this new Romanian administration, Minister of Foreign Affairs H.E. Oana-Silvia Țoiu. Foreign Minister Țoiu entered office amid heightened tensions between Moscow and the West. Russia has repeatedly violated North Atlantic Treaty Organization airspace, including a drone incursion into Romanian skies on September 14. And in late August, a Russian naval drone struck a Ukrainian vessel in the Danube River on the Romanian border. With Peter Rough, Foreign Minister Țoiu will discuss Black Sea security, the war in Ukraine, Russia’s hybrid attacks, and Romania-US relations.

The North Korean government continues to threaten the United States and global security. In particular, Kim Jong Un helps Russia with its invasion of Ukraine by supplying artillery shells, ballistic missiles, and troops. Meanwhile, the Kim regime is a menace to its own people. Washington can counter the threat from Pyongyang and prioritize North Korean human rights by supporting radio broadcasts and foreign media in the country, assisting escapees, and funding efforts to investigate human rights abuses. Such policies would both challenge the Kim regime and promote American interests abroad. Join Hudson Institute for a panel discussion on the connection between human rights in North Korea and US national security. Representative Young Kim (R-CA) will deliver a virtual keynote address.

After the Cold War, Western leaders embraced the illusion that globalization and the spread of democracy would lead to the outbreak of peace around the world. But just decades later, great powers are once again competing for territory, resources, and prestige. In his new book Great Power Diplomacy: The Skill of Statecraft from Attila the Hun to Kissinger, one of America’s foremost strategists, Wess Mitchell, argues that the United States needs to relearn how to build winning alliances, splinter enemy coalitions, and, when necessary, make peace with former adversaries. By looking to the great empires of the past, Mitchell argues, Washington can better prepare itself for a dangerous new era of great power competition. Join Hudson’s Peter Rough for a discussion with Wess Mitchell on the book’s findings, how they apply to the present moment, and the future of great power diplomacy.

To face the China challenge, the United States needs a better understanding of the Chinese Communist Party’s origins. How has the CCP maintained legitimacy and control while pursuing market reforms and private sector development? How has the party overcome geographic and historical challenges to maintain its centralized control over ideology? In Institutional Genes: The Origins of China’s Institutions and Totalitarianism, Professor Chenggang Xu argues that, unlike the Soviet Union, China has developed a system of regionally administered totalitarianism. Like other totalitarian regimes, the CCP’s system is inherently expansionist and positions China as not only a domestic oppressor but a global security threat. Join Dr. Miles Yu, senior fellow and director of Hudson’s China Center, for a conversation with Professor Xu on why misunderstanding China’s political order may create critical strategic risks for the US amid intensifying geopolitical rivalry.

This February, the United States Institute of Peace Senior Study Group on Strategic Stability released its 2025 report, Sustaining the Nuclear Peace. The study concludes that Russia and China have developed new ways of war built on a belief in the utility of nuclear weapons for broad purposes that encompass not just deterrence but also coercion and defeat. Further, the report concludes that a new axis is emerging. The US no longer faces a China problem and a separate Russia problem. Any crisis or conflict involving one adversary will likely involve the other, either directly or indirectly. And, because the United States has been slow to come to terms with this reality, the risk of nuclear use in war is increasing. Finally, the study recommends that policymakers urgently prioritize deterrence and prepare to enhance the United States’ ability to defend its vital interests and those of its allies if deterrence does fail. At Hudson, cochairs Dr. Brad Roberts and Dr. Rebeccah L. Heinrichs, study group member Dr. Christopher Ford, and Scowcroft Group Principal Frank Miller will discuss the report and its recommendations.

Southeast Europe, where Russia and Communist China have long sought to strengthen their foothold and expand their malign influence on the Continent, is a test case for a Russia-free, resilient European energy future. The region is becoming the gateway for liquefied natural gas imports from the United States, which could fully replace Russian gas by 2027. The region is also a major hub for US investment in next-generation clean energy technologies. With expanding artificial intelligence–driven data centers and innovation partnerships, Southeast Europe is making important contributions to European resilience and transatlantic ties.Join Hudson Senior Fellow Matt Boyse for an event with Bulgarian Minister of Energy Zhecho Stankov, Information Technology and Innovation Foundation President Dr. Robert D. Atkinson, and Center for the Study of Democracy (CSD) Energy and Climate Program Analyst Marius Koeppen. They will discuss recent developments in the region and CSD’s latest risk assessments. Ruslan Stefanov, program director and chief economist at CSD, will provide opening remarks.

The Chinese Communist Party is an opaque authoritarian regime that many observers mistake as monolithic. But behind the image of strongman leadership lie precarious factions, power struggles, and a dangerous tension between reform and stability. Few figures in modern Chinese history embody these contradictions more vividly than Hu Yaobang, a former party official who was forced to resign due to his alleged tolerance of pro-liberalization protests. Join Senior Fellow Michael Sobolik for a conversation with Robert Suettinger and Piero Tozzi about Suettinger’s book The Conscience of the Party, which explores how Hu’s story illuminates the broader patterns of CCP factional struggle. They will discuss what Hu’s experiences and legacy can teach policymakers about contemporary CCP power struggles, purges, and the ongoing tension between reformist impulses and the pursuit of stability under Xi Jinping.

Over the past decade, the United States and Canada have emerged as the world’s leading producers of oil, natural gas, uranium, and other critical energy inputs. This strength has undercut authoritarians’ leverage in energy markets, providing allies with new options. Yet challenges remain in securing critical minerals, diversifying global supply chains, and advancing innovation. With the Group of Seven energy ministers set to meet in late October, Hudson Institute and the Center for North American Prosperity and Security (CNAPS) will host a forum on North America’s role in global energy security and economic resilience. This discussion will examine the policies and priorities driving transatlantic energy strategy, North America’s unmatched resource base and the opportunities this gives Washington, Ottawa, and Mexico City, and the geopolitical stakes of ensuring continued North American leadership.

The world’s two largest economies remain deeply interdependent even as they race toward greater self-sufficiency. Recently, the United States and China reached a fragile détente in their trade war, anchored by China’s agreement to resume rare earth magnet exports and America’s lifting of technology export controls. This captures the paradox of US-China competition: mutual reliance collides with mutual distrust as both sides build up their supply chains for critical minerals and advanced technology. Beijing’s integrated control over rare earths and other processing chokepoints reflects a deliberate, long-term strategy. Meanwhile, Washington’s shifting mix of tariffs and export controls suggests a more reactive, ad hoc approach. Is that contrast real or overstated? What lessons have emerged from the COVID-19 pandemic, semiconductor shortages, and other disruptions? What more should the United States do—through reshoring, friend-shoring, and public–private partnerships—to forge a credible path to resilience? How might a US-China trade deal, potentially at a fall summit, alter this competition and the broader strategic rivalry? And finally, how can Washington leverage international relationships and tools like the Defense Production Act to secure its leadership in technology? Senior Fellow Nadia Schadlow will join leading experts on supply chains and US-China competition for a panel discussion of these questions, moderated by Asia-Pacific Security Chair Patrick Cronin.