• Seoul, Tokyo to discuss sanctions on N. Korea

    The top envoys of Korean and Japan were set to meet Thursday to discuss how to handle North Korea’s growing nuclear threat, including possible sanctions to punish the Stalinist state for its missile development. The talks in Seoul between Lim Sung-nam, special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs…

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  • 4-river project a failure: audit

    An audit of President Lee Myung-bak’s signature four-river project found it was poorly executed and that as a result water quality of the rivers may have been worsened. Unveiling the results of its investigation Thursday, the Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI) voiced concern that the project would require the…

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  • East Asia

    Park puts economy, safety first

    President-elect Park Geun-hye’s government restructuring plan, unveiled Tuesday, calls for empowering ministries overseeing the economy while emphasizing public safety amid a rising number of sex crimes. Under the proposal, the team scrapped the Ministry of Special Affairs in charge of facilitating dialogue with opposition parties. Analysts widely agreed that the…

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  • West Asia

    Iranian President Talks With Syrian PM In Tehran Aimed At Enhancing Relations

    Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (R) meets with Syrian Prime Minister Wael al-Halqi (L) in Tehran, Iran, Jan. 15, 2013. Ahmadinejad called on Tuesday for enhancing relations with Syria in different fields. <Xinhua/Ahmad Halabisaz>

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  • East Asia

    South Korean National Assembly Speaker Kang Chang-hee Meets With His Vietnamese Counterpart In Hanoi

    Chairman of Vietnam’s National Assembly Nguyen Sinh Hung (R) shakes hands with visiting Speaker of the Republic of Korea’s National Assembly Kang Chang Hee in Hanoi, capital of Vietnam, on Jan. 14, 2013. Nguyen Sinh Hung held talks with Kang Chang Hee Monday to boost bilateral legislative ties. Chairman of…

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  • East Asia

    Pervasion of mobile phone in NK will eventually change it to a new country

    In recent weeks, North Korea has frequently been in the headlines. Of course, the successful launch of a satellite attracted much attention. The large-scale purges of the military, the pregnancy of Kim Jong-un’s wife, Kim Jong-un’s New Year address and other news were widely discussed in the international media. However,…

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  • East Asia

    Will the US Pivot Trigger a New Regional Arms Race?

    *Author, Richard A. Bitzinger is Senior Fellow with the Military Transformations Program at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. Formerly with the RAND Corp. and the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, he has been writing on Asian defense and military issues for more…

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  • Chinese envoy backs Park’s NK approach

    Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Zhijun said Friday he supported President-elect Park Geun-hye’s “trust building” approach to Pyongyang, calling it a “very good idea.” “The chronic disease with regard to issues of the Korean Peninsula is a lack of trust,” Zhang said during a forum for businesspeople. “When you are…

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  • East Asia

    With the people

    What is a good slogan for the new government to be led by Park Geun-hye, who will be inaugurated as president on Feb. 25? I suggest that it should be “With the people” in English and in Korean “국민과 같이.” The suggestion comes from my interest in Abraham Lincoln, the…

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  • East Asia

    Overbalancing: The Folly of Trying to Contain China

    *Author, Malcolm Fraser was Prime Minister of Australia from 1975 to 1983. As the US reorients its foreign policy toward Asia, with the attendant redeployment of military assets to the region, fears are spreading that the American pivot is really aimed at containing the rise of China. Former Australian Prime…

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