North Korea: economy, denuclearization, summit
“I am ready to meet the U.S. president again anytime” In the New Year speech, North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un mentioned, “I am ready to meet the U.S. president again anytime, and will make efforts to obtain without fail results which can be welcomed by the international community.” On the other hand, U.S. […]
North Korea slams UN rapporteur over human rights comment
North Korea’s party organ Rodong Sinmun on Monday criticized the U.N.’s Special Rapporteur of human rights Tomas Ojea Quintana’s recent visit to South Korea, saying it triggered unnecessary conflict between the two Koreas. “The U.N. Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the DPRK (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea) has interrupted inter-Korean relations […]
Has Singapore Led to Real Gains on the North Korean Nuclear Question?
The warm feelings of the Singapore summit between Kim Jong Un and Donald Trump in June have given way to the chill of December and the reality of a coming winter. In October and November, North Korea’s state-run news agency, KCNA, published a series of commentaries warning that North Korea might resume testing nuclear […]
Xi Jinping’s Subtle Summitry on the Korean Peninsula
As a pragmatist, Chinese President Xi Jinping patiently and methodically chooses the means and procedures to achieve his “China Dream,” waiting until China is ready and able to revise the global strategic, economic and diplomatic order led by the United States. His efforts to balance revisionist goals and pragmatic means are evident on the Korean […]
Can Abe Get Japan Back on the Korea Bus?
At the United Nations General Assembly on Sept. 20, 2017, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe outlined his hardline approach to North Korea in no uncertain terms. “Again and again, attempts to resolve issues through dialogue have all come to naught. In what hope of success are we now repeating the very same failure a third […]
North Korean leader’s speech shows international sanctions working
Although much of the media focus was placed on his warning he would find a “new way” if the U.S. sticks to the sanctions, experts here argued that the New Year address of North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un was mainly about the economy. It could indicate the sanctions by the United Nations and the United […]
After Singapore, Can Sizzle Be Replaced With Steak?
WHAT can face-to-face diplomacy between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un achieve? It is wisest not to expect a revolutionary change in Trump’s approach and instead for him to play to his strengths: ceremony and personal relationships. On substance, the South Korean-led process should be allowed to take the lead […]
Studying or socializing with refugees?
Volunteers eager to help North Korean refugees run into a brick wall with my nonprofit: No socializing. That takes fun out of volunteering for those who dream of helping North Korean refugees with clubbing, hiking or dating. We started matching North Korean refugees with volunteers in March 2013, thinking everyone realized how important it was […]
“80% of young North Koreans not loyal to Kim Jong-un”
Eighty percent of young North Koreans have no loyalty to the country’s leader, according to a Japanese newspaper. “Inside the North (North Korea), people, and especially the young generation, are indifferent to each other, politics and their leaders, and there is no sense of loyalty,” a Japanese newspaper quoted a North Korean defector as saying. […]
Summit Misdirection: Trump’s North Korea Ploy to Tackle Iran
US President Donald Trump’s summit meeting on North Korea’s nuclear weapons and his administration’s reversal of the multilateral nuclear deal with Iran negotiated under former President Barack Obama are being treated as separate matters. In this article, I suggest that the two events are related. Trump cares far more about bringing Iran to heel than […]
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