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Hither and Yon

‘Rocket man’ gives everyone a break from tedious news cycles

November 30, 2017
Special to WorldTribune.com

By Donald Kirk

WASHINGTON ― He had to do it, didn’t he? Just when the optimists were saying, well, it’s been a few weeks since the last one, maybe he’s learned his lesson.

What lesson?

Kim Jong-Un (aka, “Rocket man”) sails on, oblivious  Read More 
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‘Expert’ fixes for the North Korea crisis: Seriously?

By World Tribune on August 3, 2017
Special to WorldTribune.com
By Donald Kirk

WASHINGTON ― North Korea pops off another ICBM, and suddenly the U.S. media is full of talking heads offering views and solutions.

They range from the extremes of annihilating North Korea’s nuclear and missile facilities to, “Oh, just sign a peace  Read More 
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Vise tightens on North Korea crisis as Americans focus elsewhere

July 28, 2017
Special to WorldTribune.com
By Donald Kirk

WASHINGTON — Americans are so fixated on the issues of healthcare and Russia that tightening sanctions on North Korea almost escapes notice.

One minute the networks are vying with one another on what passes as “analysis” on President Trump’s efforts to replace Obamacare with Trumpcare, and  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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Where does bankrupt North Korea get the cash for those skyscrapers and missiles?

By World Tribune on August 25, 2016
Special to WorldTribune.com

By Donald Kirk

U.S.-China relations are at their worst in years, and North and South Korean are not getting along either. In fact, relations between those two are at such a low ebb that two-way trade, once about several hundred million dollars a  Read More 
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Does China have more influence over South Korea than North Korea?

Special to WorldTribune.com
By Donald Kirk, EastAsiaIntel.com

We keep hearing about all the influence the Chinese have over North Korea.
If only they'd exert their power, maybe cut off or slow down the flow of oil that's the lifeblood of the country, then the North Koreans would start talking seriously about giving  Read More 
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North Korea triggers a U.S. missile defense showdown among major powers

Special to WorldTribune.com
By Donald Kirk, EastAsiaIntel.com
North Korean rocket launches and nuclear tests risk getting boring.
The pattern is familiar: expressions of outrage, loud condemnation ― then nothing. Has the latest one-two punch of nuclear test and rocket launch changed a thing? The easy answer is not really ― but think again. The  Read More 
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No, Time magazine, it’s not yet time to forgive as threat of WMD terror looms large

Special to WorldTribune.com
By Donald Kirk, EastAsiaIntel.com
This week’s Asia edition of Time magazine features the cover line, “What It Takes to Forgive a Killer.”
Thinking the editors had had time to do a cover on the massacres in Paris, I discovered cloying, patronizing interviews with friends and relatives of the  Read More 
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Obama welcomes Xi: A matter of ‘optics’ and not much else

Special to WorldTribune.com
By Donald Kirk, EastAsiaIntel.com
WASHINGTON -- China President Xi Jinping’s meeting with President Obama Friday is sure to be an exercise in double-and-triple talk that will sorely test the skills of both of them in papering over, covering up and otherwise evading issues that neither of them is going  Read More 
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