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Hither and Yon

Pax Koreana? In their dreams

September 7, 2017

By Donald Kirk

Donald Trump doesn’t get it. He warns South Korea about “appeasement,” but who’s appeasing whom?

Yes, President Moon Jae-In, hero of the candlelight protests that lofted him as the liberal darling into the presidency after the ouster of the conservative Park Geun-Hye, would love to go down in  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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On their minds in South Korea’s island paradise: Visions of peace … and returning Chinese tourists

By World Tribune on August 10, 2017
Special to WorldTribune.com

By Donald Kirk

GANGJEONG, Jeju: Upstaged by THAAD ― that’s the sad fate of the gaggle of dutiful protesters who pray and hold signs aloft and march in front of the main entrance to the gleaming new Republic of Korea naval base on the southern  Read More 
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Going rogue in Seoul: Leftists’ dream president suddenly hints South Korea should ‘go nuclear’

By Donald Kirk

WASHINGTON – The standoff on the Korean peninsula is entering a new phase. While President Moon Jae-In calls for talks with North Koreans, he is also honoring the U.S.-Korean alliance and insisting the North give up its nuclear program.

Can Moon have it both ways? He’s besieged by protesters  Read More 
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Heartburn in Pyongyang as ‘puppet’ from Seoul visits White House

July 6, 2017
Special to WorldTribune.com

By Donald Kirk

WASHINGTON – Pro-Northers have got to be more than a little disappointed by the recent summit between the presidents of the Republic of Korea and the United States.

Judging from all the blather they were emitting before the summit, the pro-North crowd would have far rather seen  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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Key U.S. alliance in Northeast Asia put to the test with election of new South Korean leader

May 19, 2017
Special to WorldTribune.com

By Donald Kirk

Would Kim Jong-Un mind giving Moon Jae-In a break?

More than any other South Korean leader in years, Moon would like nothing better than to be the one to bring about North-South reconciliation. Wouldn’t it be great, Moon’s newly appointed former activists must be  Read More 
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South Korea’s new leadership has a record of promoting summitry with North Korea

May 11, 2017
Special to WorldTribune.com

By Donald Kirk

The drama of South Korean history opens a tumultuous new act with the election of a liberal labor lawyer who has promised both to bring about detente with North Korea and satisfy the demands of restive masses fed up with alleged rightist abuses.

Whether Moon Jae-In  Read More 
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Talking North Korea peace has paid off for the talkers, but not for peace

April 27, 2017
Special to WorldTribune.com

By Donald Kirk

An interviewer for a radio station in Boston, winding up one of those Q&A’s to which journalists are subjected, asked, What would you do to resolve the North Korean “problem?”

I answered, “I have no solution, no idea, no clue.” While that response might  Read More 
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Cognitive dissonance in Seoul over the waving of American flags

March 23, 2017
Special to WorldTribune.com

By Donald Kirk

The sight of the American Stars and Stripes among the Taegukgi held high by loyalists to Park Geun-Hye is a reminder of the historical depth of ties among mostly aging Koreans to the country that rescued the South from annihilation by North Korea and China in  Read More 
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