Network analysis of scientific collaboration in North Korea

Purpose: Although North Korea invests in scientific research, few selected research results are published to international journals. However, the latest peaceful political developments around North Korea have increased concerns about how they will support international scientific cooperation. This study aims to analyze the scientific collaboration and intellectual structure of North Korean researchers. Methods: We conducted a co-word analysis with author keywords and author names using the Web of Science records for 1976-2018 to observe the changes in research trends in North Korea. The structure of the median centrality of words and the parallel nearest neighbor clustering methods were used to visualize the results. Results: The analysis of 55 final keywords confirms that the corresponding network is composed of 17 sub-clusters under four areas. As a result of the investigation of 56 final author names, the corresponding network is composed of 15 sub-clusters under four areas. Conclusion: As more accurate information is needed about collaboration partners to ensure successful cooperation, this analysis result can support getting an overview of North Korea's research community and their research network.