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East Asia
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…
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East Asia
Confusing ‘Korean age’ system dies hard
The year 2019 has arrived. This means all Koreans have just become a year older. Welcome to the “Korean age” system, in which everyone becomes a year old at birth and gains an additional year every New Year’s Day. This method originated in China centuries ago and was once used…
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East Asia
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…
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East Asia
Talking at the Top: Past, Present and Future Summit Diplomacy in Asia
As the metaphor suggests, summitry sits at the pinnacle of international politics; indeed, the term was first introduced by none other than Winston Churchill.1Defined most broadly as face-to-face meetings of heads of state, summits have on occasion proven to be defining historical moments: Neville Chamberlain at Munich, John F. Kennedy…
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East Asia
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…
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East Asia
South Korea: minimum wage stirs up controversy again
The government’s ordinance to revise the calculation method for the minimum wage is stirring up controversy and fueling conflict between businesses and workers. They have been locking horns over a particular issue concerning the inclusion of wages employers need to pay their employees for days off. Basically, companies will have…
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East Asia
Shavkat Mirziyoyev becomes ‘2018 Asian of the Year’
On December 19, The Asia Journalist Association (AJA) announced ‘2018 Asians of the Year’: South Korean football coach Park Hang-seo, Uzbekistan’s President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, LG group’s former Chairman Koo Bon-moo, and Egypt’s heart surgeon Magdi Habib Yacoub. The awards ceremony will be held in AJA General Meeting 2019. Shavkat…
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East Asia
IPR protection guarantees better innovation
China’s reform and opening up nurtured and prospered its intellectual property rights (IPR) protection. In the 1980s, the country was in urgent need of an IPR protection system complying with international rules, especially a patent system, in order to better utilize foreign capital and technologies. On April 1, 1985, when…
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East Asia
Advance with the times by carrying forward reform and opening-up
Whoever can offer a clear explanation of China’s reform and development will likely be a winner of the Nobel Laureate in economics, the remark of the Nobel economics prize winner Milton Friedman has reflected the global trend towards the exploration of the secrets of China’s reform and opening-up. To reveal…
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East Asia
Boosting ties between Korea, Philippines
My wife and I recently travelled to the municipality of Concepcion, Iloilo, Philippines, as part of the delegation of the Korea Heritage Society from Dec. 4 to Dec 10. The KHS was led by its chairman Choi Ha-kyung and advisory council members, at the invitation of Milliard S. Villanueva, the…
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