There is no more urgent security issue for Australia than North Korea, a nuclear-armed power with a regime described by Professor Robert Kelly as a ‘mafia state’. At his only public appearance in Canberra, Professor Kelly discussed North Korea’s enigmatic regime, its confrontation with the United States, and the likelihood of war. The conversation was moderated by Lowy Institute Senior Fellow Sam Roggeveen, and questions were taken from the audience.

Robert Kelly is a professor of international relations in the Political Science and Diplomacy Department of Pusan National University in Busan, Korea. He is a regular contributor to The Interpreter and has written for The Diplomat, Foreign Affairs, The Washington Post, and The New York Times.