Archive for the 'Korean Politics' Category
Friday, May 8th, 2009
The topic is titled, “South Korea’s Rollback of Democratic Rights,” but some more interesting points arose from that false start. From LMB to mad cow to the bogus protest groups operating in South Korea today, something for everyone as Burgeson and Katsiaficas go head to head.
Filed under: Asides, Korean Politics, South Korea | No Comments »
Wednesday, March 18th, 2009
In July 2006, I wrote about the potential for an East Asian arms race. One possibility mentioned at that time was of Japan also going nuclear if a reunified Korea chose that option. A recent Congressional Research Service report, “Japan’s Nuclear Future: Policy Debate, Prospects, and U.S. Interests,” (PDF) 19 February 2009, has [...]
Filed under: Asia, Japan-Korea Relations, Korean Politics, Reunification, U.S. Military, U.S.-Korea Relations | 8 Comments »
Wednesday, February 18th, 2009
The Taepo Dong 2 (TD-2) (대포동 2호) missile launch(es) North Korea likely is preparing for, and recent voiding of all political-military deals with South Korea, are part of Pyongyang’s long-term strategy of regime survival. While these actions also have less important near-terms goals – expressing displeasure with ROK President Lee Myung-bak’s relatively hard-line approach [...]
Filed under: Axis of Evil, Diplomacy, Engagement, Hunger & Famine, Kim Jong-il, Korean Politics, Missiles, Nuclear Proliferation, Propaganda, Six-Party Talks | 10 Comments »
Friday, January 30th, 2009
North Korea’s state media, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), on 30 January 2009, released statement declaring the DPRK’s unilateral withdrawal from all political and military agreements with South Korea.
Specifically cited was a 1991 agreement that included a sea border in the Yellow Sea. This signals North Korea’s dissatisfaction with ROK President [...]
Filed under: Diplomacy, Economics, Engagement, Korean Politics | 8 Comments »
Thursday, January 15th, 2009
In November I speculated that Kim Jong-il’s apparent stroke in August might prompt him to select a successor before he dies or becomes incapacitated. Reporting from Yonhap claims that Kim Jong-il’s third son, Kim Jong-un (김정운) (also Romanized as Jong-eun and Jong-woon, has been chosen as his successor:
North Korean leader Kim Jong-il has [...]
Filed under: Kim Jong-il, Korean Politics, Reunification | 10 Comments »
Thursday, December 11th, 2008
Remember the mad protests about American beef in South Korea? The mass hysteria of biblical proportions (”cats and dogs living together!”) that gripped the country and led to its otherwise sensible president to apologize regarding the “hurried” negotiation over resumption of the importation of American beef?
Well, now, apparently, American beef is welcome in ROK again:
Now, [...]
Filed under: Activism, Anti-Americanism, Economics, Korean Culture, Korean Politics, Miscellaneous, South Korea, U.S.-Korea Relations | 3 Comments »
Tuesday, December 9th, 2008
The trouble with North Korea is that nobody wants it — except the current ruling elite of North Korea itself.
In a previous post, I rather immodestly predicted that, should the Kim regime collapse in North Korea, a military junta backed by China would emerge, resulting in a Burma-ization of North Korea. I further speculated that [...]
Filed under: Activism, China-Korea Relations, Defectors & Refugees, Human Rights, Hunger & Famine, Korean Politics, North Korea, Nuclear Proliferation, Reunification, South Korea, U.S.-Korea Relations | 19 Comments »
Tuesday, December 2nd, 2008
On the one hand, there was the North Korean defector-turned-anti-North Korea-activist, trying to send balloons with anti-Kim Jong-Il messages. On the other side were pro-North demonstrators (from the labor unions) trying to stop him. The result was, at least according to the WaPo, a brawl (make sure to watch the video attached to the article):
“You [...]
Filed under: Activism, Defectors & Refugees, Korean Politics | 4 Comments »
Monday, December 1st, 2008
Kim Hyun-hee, one of the infamous bombers of Korean Air (KAL) 858 in 1987 which killed 115 (see book review, The Tears of My Soul), claims that South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS), during the first year of Roh Moo-hyun’s administration, pressured her to recant that the bombing was directed by North Korea. When she [...]
Filed under: Korean Politics, Terrorism | 4 Comments »
Friday, November 7th, 2008
If reporting over the past two months has been accurate, it seems that Kim Jong-il suffered a stroke (or perhaps a heart attack), in mid-August, was in the hospital for a time, but is now recovering. A French neurosurgeon, Francois-Xavier Roux, is thought to have treated Kim, which would point to a stroke, though [...]
Filed under: Kim Jong-il, Korean Politics, North Korea | 9 Comments »