North Korea is no longer merely surviving—it is strategically maneuvering. Against the backdrop of a fraying global order and eroding sanctions enforcement, Pyongyang has deepened wartime collaboration with Russia while leaning on China to sustain its economic core. What may appear as opportunistic bandwagoning is, in fact, a calibrated strategy—one that seeks regime durability, economic windfalls, and enhanced geopolitical relevance.

In today’s contested Indo-Pacific, China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is no longer simply modernizing—it is transforming. Guided by artificial intelligence, automation, and top-down political control, the PLA’s strategic shift toward “intelligentization” reflects Beijing’s bold ambition to field a “world-class military” by 2049. In Episode 47 of Dialogue, I sat down with Elsa B. Kania—respected expert on China’s military innovation—to examine how this transformation may shape the future of war.