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Hither and Yon

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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Having sworn to ‘forever renounce war’, Japan still alone in a tough neighborhood

May 4, 2017
Special to WorldTribune.com

By Donald Kirk

TOKYO -- The shadows of war lengthen over Japanese society in thrall to Article 9 of a “peace constitution” foisted under the “occupation” led by the victorious World War II Pacific commander, Gen. Douglas MacArthur.

Much as the “rightist” Prime Minister Shinzo Abe might want to do away  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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Amid the Korean nuclear showdown, don’t forget the trade gap that threatens the western alliance

April 20, 2017
Special to WorldTribune.com

By Donald Kirk

All the talk over what to do with North Korea overlooks one problem to which people are not paying that much attention. That’s the yawning gap in trade between the U.S. and all its leading trade partners.

It’s a lot easier to grasp  Read More 
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This is not Syria: Tens of millions could die in Korean War II

April 13, 2017
Special to WorldTribune.com

By Donald Kirk

POHANG, South Korea – An array of heavy-duty, sophisticated gear spread over the beaches here shows the incredible military might of the U.S. and South Korea. Far offshore, way beyond the horizon, the aircraft carrier Carl Vinson leads a “strike force” of warships.

Watching the display  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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Profiles in Korean corruption: First female president may be seen later as tragic figure

March 30, 2017
Special to WorldTribune.com

By Donald Kirk

The prospect of Park Geun-Hye going to jail in the most sweeping political scandal in modern Korean history inspires invidious comparisons. Who, actually, was the most corrupt president since promulgation of the “democracy constitution” in 1987 at the height of demonstrations as massive as those we have  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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U.S.-South Korean alliance under assault by a communist tag team

March 16, 2017
Special to WorldTribune.com

By Donald Kirk

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, dispensing pledges like a jolly Santa Claus pulling Christmas presents from his sled, arrives today (Friday) in Seoul from Tokyo and flies the following day to Beijing. After vowing undying U.S. support to Korea and Japan, he’ll  Read More 
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Forgotten takeaway from the killing of Kim Jong-Nam: North Korea’s bio-chemical WMD threat

March 2, 2017
Special to WorldTribune.com

By Donald Kirk

The poisoning of the half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un should make everyone painfully aware of a category of “weapons of mass destruction” that’s overlooked in the controversy over nuclear devices.

In all the negotiations, recriminations, talk and double-talk about North Korea’s nuclear  Read More 
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