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Hither and Yon

The Seoul Air Show, an exercise by U.S. ‘decapitation’ team and daydreams of a Trump-Kim sit-down at the DMZ

October 20, 2017
Special to WorldTribune.com

By Donald Kirk

The line-up of warplanes on display beside the runway at Seoul Air Base has got to be intimidating. The sight of the latest American F35s and F22s along with all those South Korean fighters may  Read More 
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Running with the nuclear football: Is acting crazy the best way to deal with Kim Jong-Un?

October 12, 2017
Special to WorldTribune.com

By Donald Kirk

Donald Trump at times engages in such flights of rhetorical fancy that a lot of people think he’s crazy or anyway unpredictable.

How can you be sure of a president who talks about destroying North Korea, who holds out “the military option” ― but professes to  Read More 
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Oil for N. Korea: China much angrier at THAAD than Pyongyang’s nukes

September 15, 2017
Special to WorldTribune.com

By Donald Kirk

President Moon Jae-In has to be a master of the art of compromise. He was all for the latest watered-down UN sanctions that cut down but don’t cut off the flow of oil from China and Russia to North Korea.

The U.S. would far  Read More 
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Korean sovereignty: When ‘peace’ advocates say the ‘people’ they don’t mean South Koreans

August 31, 2017
Special to WorldTribune.com

By Donald Kirk

One demand you don’t hear South Korean leaders making whenever North Korea pops off another missile is, “Oh, let’s sign a peace treaty, and everything will be okay.”

That’s partly because, if there’s one party with whom North  Read More 
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U.S.-North Korea-China peace treaty? Bad idea

June 29, 2017
Special to WorldTribune.com

By Donald Kirk

WASHINGTON – The good news about President Moon Jae-In’s summitry with President Donald Trump this week is they’re talking as partners in the drive to end North Korea’s nuclear program and bring about inter-Korean reconciliation.

A major barrier to cooperation, however, is loose talk  Read More 
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Mar-a-lago menu: THAAD and Kim Jong-UN; Powerpoints and hot air

April 6, 2017
Special to WorldTribune.com

By Donald Kirk

From the outset, the idea of implanting a Star Wars weapon capable of zapping an enemy missile 150 kilometers above the earth’s surface had to be controversial.

The real problem from the South Korean viewpoint initially was, what for ― what we really need are short and  Read More 
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Showdown: Historically, trade wars lead to real wars

February 9, 2017
Special to WorldTribune.com

By Donald Kirk

President Donald Trump’s most fearsome offensive on the world stage has nothing to do with immigration reform, or building that wall all along the U.S. border with Mexico, or defense or treaty alliances or the North Korean nuke-and-missile threat.

It’s all about U. Read More 
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Art of the deal: How about a summit between Donald Trump and Kim Jong-Un at the Korean DMZ?

By World Tribune on May 26, 2016
Special to WorldTribune.com

By Donald Kirk, EastAsiaIntel.com

Donald Trump may be running neck and neck with Hillary Clinton in the U.S. presidential sweepstakes if the polls are at all credible, but there’s one constituency in which he appears to be well ahead. That’s within  Read More 
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How the U.S. handles the baddest of bad actors: ISIL, Cuba and North Korea

Special to WorldTribune.com
By Donald Kirk, EastAsiaIntel.com
WASHINGTON – The hype surrounding President Obama’s visit to Cuba quickly gave way to fear and loathing as the world absorbed the news of the slaughter perpetrated in Brussels, for which ISIL, the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant, immediately claimed “credit.”
No sooner were  Read More 
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Back in the USA and tracking the news on Interstate 40: North Korea? Where?

Special to WorldTribune.com
By Donald Kirk, EastAsiaIntel.com
LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas ― North Korea’s top gun will have to try harder if he expects his threats of another nuclear test will win serious consideration in a U.S. presidential election year.
Driving through the American heartland, you hear hardly a thing about  Read More 
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