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North Korean ordeal haunts US activist
Korean-American activist Robert Park,
held by North Korea for weeks in 2010 after smuggling himself in on a religious
mission, is as furious at his treatment by Seoul's media as he is with his
captors. Denying media reports of sexual abuse, Park is not revealing exactly
what provoked a "false confession". However, he plans to sue Pyongyang in the US
courts over "torture". - Donald Kirk (Feb 10,
'12)
BOOK REVIEW
Playful lessons for
North Korea's
young leader
The Lily: Evolution, Play, and the Power of a Free Society
by Daniel Cloud
Princeton University political philosopher Daniel Cloud's gift to North Korea's
new leader Kim Jong-eun could not have come at a better time. The book explains
to the Young General, that by grasping evolutionary forces, free societies - as
the Dao De Jing puts it - "accomplish everything by doing nothing."
Something for Kim to ponder among his ambitious plans to join the "elite club
of nations" this year. - Mark A DeWaever (Feb
6, '12)
Question time for North Korea
North Korea reportedly is producing middle-range missiles for export for Iran's
defense in the event of a Middle East war that would make the conflicts in Iraq
and Afghanistan look like brush fires. Closer to home, Pyongyang has fired off
a series of questions to South Korea that are not necessarily expected to be
answered. - Donald Kirk (Feb 3, '12)
When rogues drift apart
As Myanmar drifts into the United States orbit, Washington is wagering that the
economic carrot will influence a move away from North Korea - and towards
transparency about past dealings with Pyongyang on nuclear contracts. While the
Southeast Asian nation's elevation from an "outpost of tyranny" could cost the
North Korean regime another of its arms-purchasing allies, it may serve as a
guide for US-North Korean detente. - Jacob Zenn
(Feb 1, '12)
Even in Pyongyang, politics will out
North Korea tries to project the well-choreographed facade of national unity,
such as at Kim Jong-il's funeral. But behind the scenes, post-succession
factions are forming and battlelines are being drawn - all while the people are
starving. If the inner rivalries and external pressure become unmanageable for
Kim Jong-eun and his backstage masters, the curtains could fall on the whole
Kim show. - Aidan Foster-Carter (Jan 31, '12)
Victory for 'Sunshine' policy
whistleblower
A South Korean spy who fled to America after revealing Seoul paid Pyongyang at
least US$1.5 billion to facilitate the historic June 2000 intra-Korean summit
that landed president Kim Dae-jung the Nobel Peace Prize has won US asylum. Kim
Kisam faced imprisonment and potentially assassination if extradited. But this
didn't stop Washington - under Seoul's pressure - fighting his bid tooth and
nail. - Donald Kirk (Jan 27, '12)
South Korean cup half-full
South Korean business leaders expect the economy to hit hard times in the
run-up to presidential elections at the end of the year. Recent economic data
show there are many reasons for gloom to descend sooner, but markets are more
optimistic, expecting results as the government racks up stimulus measures.
- Robert M Cutler (Jan 25, '12)
East Asian energy dilemma over Iran
Pressure on Japan and South Korea to sacrifice vital oil supplies from Iran to
meet United States policy interests is driving the US allies further towards
China. Tokyo faces aversion to nuclear power and political rumblings over
kow-towing to Washington. Meanwhile, Seoul - perhaps believing the US campaign
will create larger security problems - will reject assertions that punishing
Tehran impacts on North Korea. - Yong Kwon (Jan
23, '12)
The sleaze that shames Seoul
South Korea's Samsung, Hyundai Motor and SK are all in many ways great
companies, indeed world beaters. And yet all are run by men who, whatever their
business acumen, also have convictions (and this does not mean their beliefs).
And no one will do anything about it. - Aidan Foster-Carter
(Jan 20, '12)
Prodigal son riles Pyongyang
Only Kim Jong-nam's status as the late Dear Leader's eldest son is likely
staying Pyongyang's assassins after he predicted the regime's imminent demise
from Macau while deriding the "third-generation succession" that put his
half-brother, Kim Jong-eun, in charge. Despite the risks involved, Jong-nam's
remarks will appeal to military leaders who also doubt Jong-eun can fill his
father's shoes. - Donald Kirk (Jan 20, '12)
The Ponghwa behind Pyongyang's throne
A youthful Pyongyang elite known as the Ponghwa, meaning "smoke of battle",
will strengthen Kim Jong-eun's power base following his father's death, acting
as his "backstage support". Consisting of powerful offspring of the military
hierarchy - including some of Jong-eun's schoolmates - the Ponghwa boast a
strong presence in top government organs and the security and intelligence
apparatus. - Michael Rank (Jan 18, '12)
Pyongyang to preserve Kim for
posterity
Kim Jong-il's passing in December could be good news for Russia's "Lenin
laboratory" of embalmers, which has preserved dead communist leaders ranging
from Joseph Stalin to Ho Chi Minh. Lacking work lately, the team would happily
construct a glass coffin for the North Korean Dear Leader in Kumsusan memorial
palace, possibly adjacent to his father's. However, reports suggest the
mummification will be done domestically. - Andrei Lankov
(Jan 11, '12)
COMMENT
Towards a co-operative Korean
partnership
As the first step towards ending the war in Northeast Asia, the mutual
recognition of both South Korea and North Korea is necessary. Although both
governments understand the pros and cons of peaceful co-existence, the Cold War
mentality that dominates the region does not permit such an option. - Leonid A
Petrov (Jan 9, '12)
A legacy of death and inflation
Rather than the prosperous state Pyongyang promised for Kim Il-sung's
centennial celebrations in 2012, Kim Jong-il's shortsighted economic policies
leave his son in a position in which Jong-il found himself - inheriting a
nation facing famine. The capital's relative luxury has indirectly caused
soaring food prices, with Jong-eun now likely to fall back on anti-Americanism
and provocations to channel the public's distress. - Yong Kwon
(Jan 4, '12)
It's not all change in Pyongyang
The Dear Leader's death is unlikely to be the turning point in North Korean
history the world envisions, since this succession was carefully pre-planned
and the public is well-versed in hereditary transfers of power. The same inner
circle that ruled before the dictator's demise forms today's quasi-regency,
with Kim Jong-eun's inexperience allowing them plentiful scope for manipulation
and control. - Andrei Lankov (Jan 4, '12)
THE NEW FACE OF NORTH KOREA
Fear reigns as Jong-eun stamps
authority
An accelerated process to ensure the "supreme commander" inspires the same fear
and awe as his father will see mass purges launched against Pyongyang's highest
echelons down to the 
proletariat who didn't mourn convincingly over Kim Jong-il's death. The tank
division Kim Jong-eun symbolically chose for his first military inspection of
2012 suggests the South will also feel the brunt of this consolidation. - Donald
Kirk (Jan 3, '12)
'Supreme commander' is a canny fox
A heaven-sent, "sun-like" leader blessed with all the military and
statesmanship skills of his late father and grandfather, supreme commander Kim
Jong-eun is well placed to oversee the emergence of North Korea as a thriving
nation and the neutralization of the United States military presence in South
Korea, says Pyongyang's unofficial spokesman. - Kim Myong Chol
(Jan 3, '12)
Asia's canaries coughing
South Korean stocks steadied after sliding, along with the won, in initial
reaction to the death of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il. The sensitivity of
export dependent countries like Korea and Singapore to global economic health,
however, means "stability" in the present climate is very fragile at best. - Robert
M Cutler (Dec 20, '11)
Cunning Kim confounds to the last
A perpetual source of consternation for both allies and adversaries in life,
now North Korean leader Kim Jong-il has in death complicated crucial political
junctures for the United States, South Korea and China, as well as potentially
sabotaging hopes of revived nuclear talks. Many who feared the Dear Leader's
appetite for destruction have woken up to a fragile, post-Kim world where the
threat seems many times greater. - Sunny Lee (Dec
20, '11)
Enter the 'Great Successor'
While Kim jong-eun is officially said to display all his late father's
leadership "qualities", the young general's rise to supreme power will likely
be gradual and carefully managed. The world may picture a chubby,
Swiss-educated youth without a personality cult or patronage network, but it's
unlikely the Dear Leader would select a successor lacking the ruthless streak
needed to forward his legacy. (Dec 20, '11)
The Kim is dead, long live the Kim!
North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, whose death at 69 was officially announced on
Monday, had been expected to beat the United States to the punch with a
"moratorium" on missile and nuclear tests in exchange for US food aid. Now all
bets are off as North Korea goes into mourning for the man who was known as the
Dear Leader while ruling his starving people with an iron hand through 17 years
in power. - Donald Kirk (Dec 19, '11)
South Korea is the key
As the world tries to divine what the future holds for a North Korea in
mourning, the hand that South Korea plays in managing relations with the
leadership in Pyongyang is a crucial component. Any thought of "regime change"
on the part of President Lee Myung-bak's security advisers in Seoul would risk
heightening instability on the peninsula. For its part, Pyongyang has already
signaled it doesn't want any trouble. - Sunny Lee
(Dec 19, '11)
Girl in chair brings cold comfort in
Korea
Korean groups embedded a bronze sculpture of a girl perched on a chair outside
the Japanese Embassy in Seoul, marking the 1,000th weekly protest in the
ongoing campaign on behalf of World War II "comfort women". The empty chair
next to her - symbolic of tens of thousands sex slaves who never came home -
adds a new dimension to underlying tensions that refuse to go away. - Donald
Kirk (Dec 16, '11)
OBITUARY
Man of steel, Park Tae-joon
Park Tae-joon, who died this week, defied critics by developing South Korea's
steel industry from zero into a world-beating colossus in a matter of a few
years, and so embodied his country's rapid political and economic
transformation in the 20th century. One of Asia's legendary industrialists, his
legacy of achievement built on military discipline and brute determination will
tower over South Korean generations to come. - Yong Kwon
(Dec 15, '11)
Popping the Jeju bubble
Residents of Jeju Island in South Korea are waging a struggle - that has been
largely unnoticed for nearly five years - to prevent construction of a naval
base large enough to berth two US aircraft carriers. All that could change: the
issue has potential to become a hot-button issue in national elections next
year and to international peace activists it's a chance to shoot across the bow
of militarization in America's new Asian front. - Matthew Hoey
(Dec 15, '11)
INTERVIEW
North Korea's end heralds the real
crisis
What is more dangerous than a strong dictatorship? A collapsed one, so American
expert Jennifer Lind warns. In this interview with Asia Times Online
contributor Victor Fic, Lind says a North Korean implosion
creates many perils, such as "loose nukes" entering the global black market.
She calls on the United States, South Korea and China to start planning
together - now - for the staggering task of managing North Korea's collapse.
Koreas set to avert a 2012 apocalypse
North Korea's increasingly desperate need for aid is likely to spur more "sea
of fire" threats next year - but alongside a reduction in real provocations.
The Kim Jong-il regime just needs to remind the South it's there, while
patiently awaiting 2012 polls expected to deliver a left-leaning government in
Seoul more amenable to rekindling the "Sunshine" policy. - Andrei Lankov
(Dec 8, '11)
Is Kim her next challenge?
The public relations triumph of Hillary Clinton's historic Myanmar visit
potentially clears a run for a greater foreign policy prize - Kim Jong-il's
North Korea. While Clinton could outdo her husband and forever claim a place in
the history books through progress in Pyongyang, the chances of Kim enacting
similar reforms or freeing pro-democracy dissidents seem remote even in these
heady days of Asian change. - Donald Kirk (Dec
5, '11)
North Korea's new class system
For decades, advancement to coveted positions in the bureaucracy depended on
family background - especially ancestors who fought the Japanese colonizers, or
helped establish the Kim regime. Today, there is a faster, more lucrative way
to get ahead: capitalism, North Korean-style. - Andrei Lankov
(Dec 2, '11)
Korea's rivers take brunt
of 'shoveling' politics
President Lee Myung-bak's government is spending US$33 billion to transform
four of the country's rivers and their tributaries. Critics call it "sapjil"
- or useless shovel work. The result is environmental degradation, cultural
destruction, restricted freedom of expression and super profits for big
construction companies. - SoonYawl Park (Dec
1, '11)
North Korea trains sights on Blue
House
Pyongyang's threat that Lee Myung-bak's presidential office would have been the
first target if last week's South Korea-United States military exercises had
prompted another counter-strike was far from a bluff, says the Hermit Kingdom's
unofficial spokesman. While vaporizing the "enemy citadel" would take priority
over again hitting Yeonpyeong Island, the "sea of fire" would soon extend to
the metropolitan US. - Kim Myong Chol (Nov
29, '11)
The rise of new economic nationalism
Japan and South Korea misleadingly claim that principle and the pursuit of
liberal policies lie behind reform of their international trade relations -
through the Trans-Pacific Partnership and Korea-US Free Trade Agreement. What
is happening in both cases is a readjustment of outdated policy to pursue
traditional objectives related to their respective identities. - Yong Kwon
(Nov 29, '11)
KORUS of disapproval on the peninsula
While Lee Myung-bak's administration has forced through the Korea-US Free Trade
Agreement, the deal's benefits could be wiped out by financial woes in the US
undermining its ability to back-up Asian allies against Chinese assertiveness.
Meanwhile, North Korean rhetoricians - unused to their country not being the
centre of attention - are contradicting recent compromise signals by bragging
about a new reactor. - Donald Kirk (Nov 23,
'11)
Conditions unripe for North Korea
revolt
"Collapsist" speculation over North Korea ignores that key elements of
revolution are missing: the population is unaware of better alternatives and
knows swift death or imprisonment meets any form of resistance. There are also
few divisions among the rulers, who are united in the fear of a post-revolt
unification that would cost them their wealth, privileges and perhaps lives. - Andrei
Lankov (Nov 16, '11)
North Korea's ventriloquist media
A valued art in the science of Kimistry is crystallizing a successor's
personality cult through state media without endangering the fraught process.
While Kim Jong-eun can be referred to as the "Party Center", the succession is
off-limits and he can't be deemed an "illustrious general". One workaround is
the "semi-esoteric communication" that's ruled North Korean discourse for
decades. - Aidan Foster-Carter (Nov 15, '11)
Korean opposition find free-trade
pact too useful to ratify
The United States faces a long wait before South Korea's ratification of the
two countries' free-trade agreement. The Korean opposition cares little about
pro-pact arguments, so long as the issue helps to marshal mass protests against
President Lee Myung-bak's government. The goal is victory in next December's
presidential election. - Donald Kirk (Nov 15,
'11)
Seoul and Hanoi eye a glowing
partnership
The first visit by a Vietnamese president to South Korea in a decade sees Seoul
join the international scramble to build the Southeast Asian nation's civilian
nuclear plants, a week after Turkey sought the South's atomic assistance. With
Vietnam War-era hostilities largely forgotten, the countries can join hands
against China's increasingly assertive sovereignty claims in their surrounding
seas. - Donald Kirk (Nov 9, '11)
Why North Korea won't quit
Predictions that North Korea will collapse due to internal instability caused
by a succession crisis ignore that Kim Jong-il took charge in a time of greater
famine and international isolation than 
today's heir apparent. Pointing to other authoritarian states' decline is also
futile, as its 20th-century colonial traumas led North Korea to build its state
on one inviolable principle: retain sovereignty. - Yong Kwon
(Nov 8, '11)
The rise of Kim Il-sung's mini-me
North Korea has accelerated development of Kim Jong-eun's personality cult,
with the heir apparent increasingly seen in the navy blue Mao Zedong 
suit and slick-back haircut once sported by his grandfather, Kim Il-sung. The
flurry of public appearances and chorus performances of his honorific anthem, Footsteps,
suggest the young Kim won't be a radical reformer. - Andrei Lankov
(Nov 7, '11)
The gloves are off in Korea's FTA
debate
South Korea's parliament postponed this week's ratification of a free trade
pact with the United States until November 10 amid concerns the vote would
descend into another of the assembly's notorious fistfights. With the ruling
party and opposition locked in stalemate over a foreign investment clause, the
tensions could easily spill over and impact negatively on US relations. - Steven
Borowiec (Nov 4, '11)
Korea knows the West lacks killer
touch
South Korean conservatives say the Libyan conflict could have ended sooner if
only the West had focused sooner on killing Muammar Gaddafi, implying that
dithering over Kim jong-il's death could delay victory over North Korea. While
Kim may wince at footage of Gaddafi's savage demise, he holds all the
geopolitical and nuclear cards needed to avoid such a fate. - Sunny Lee
(Nov 1, '11)
Dutch hunger and North Korea
After withholding food aid to North Korea since 2009, the United States plans
to resume staggered delivery following last week's nuclear talks while South
Korea refuses to relent. The allies' hard line has not only handed Pyongyang a
propaganda card, it also ignores long-term effects of starvation - as evident
from the Netherlands' 1944-1945 famine - that could hinder political change. - Yong
Kwon (Oct 31, '11)
Lee Myung-bak: Obama's man-crush?
Man-hugs and unprecedented applause for South Korean President Lee Myung-bak on
his recent trip to the United States have generated plenty of excitement in
Seoul. There is no denying a personal chemistry with bosom-buddy Barack Obama,
but strategic considerations, trade and a certain arms deal are what really
make bromance blossom. Sunny Lee (Oct
28, '11)
Backlash rocks South Korea's US ties
Firm support for the US-South Korean alliance from visiting United States
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta in Seoul contrasted with an anti-establishment
groundswell that this week saw a progressive independent elected as Seoul's
mayor. Rising public frustration at the government's hard line on North Korea
also suggests Washington shouldn't count on such friendly allies after next
year's elections. - Donald Kirk (Oct 28, '11)
Ruling party tastes defeat in Seoul
South Korean voters have handed victory to independent candidate Park Won-soon
over the ruling Grand National Party's Na Kyung-won in 
Seoul's mayoral election, sending the GNP a powerful message ahead of next
year's national polls. Park's ability to mobilize the K-pop generation and tap
into rising nationwide resentment of old-fashioned, elitist politics suggests a
new dawn. - Steven Borowiec (Oct 27, '11)
North Korea-US deal on MIAs bodes
well
A North Korea-United States agreement to resume the search for American troops
missing in action since the Korean War marks a tentative thaw in six decades of
heightened tensions. The deal was struck just before differences were reported
narrowed in now-concluded talks about talks on the far more intractable issue
of the North's nuclear weapons. - Barbara Slavin
(Oct 26, '11)
McCarthyism, South Korea-style
South Korean police are questioning some 40 officials, military officers and
professors who joined a "pro-North Korean" website, with conservative media
shrieking that the South has become a breeding ground for North loyalists.
While Seoul's intensifying censorship of anything deemed pro-Pyongyang creates
an aura of forbidden fruit, its witchhunts create martyrs and divert attention
from the real enemy - the Kim Jong-il regime. - Aidan Foster-Carter
(Oct 25, '11)
Logs on the railroad
The arrest of North Koreans in China who were working with defectors
jeopardizes an "underground railroad" of safe houses that helps North Koreans
reach Southeast Asia and travel onwards to South Korea. Closure of the route
will increase the likelihood of defectors facing trafficking and forced labor
or marriages, while ensuring that many more are sent back to face imprisonment
or worse. - Simon Roughneen (Oct 25, '11)
Stars align for North Korean progress
Exploratory talks between the United States and North Korea next week come as
positions are softening on all sides. While the US is pressuring the South into
accepting revived six-party negotiations, Seoul is reassessing a hard line
threatening the government's survival. Meanwhile, Pyongyang is eager for aid so
next year's 100th anniversary of Kim Il-sung's birth goes with a bang. - Donald
Kirk (Oct 21, '11)
Korea feels impact of global
uncertainty
South Korean is feeling the impact of global uncertainty, with an expanded
currency swap agreement with Japan this week only briefly reversing a strong
decline in the won. President Lee Myung-bak has few months left to bolster the
economy before voters give their own verdict. - Robert M Cutler
(Oct 21, '11)
US coercive diplomacy
threatens Korean war
Hawkish voices in Washington are again recommending coercive measures on North
Korea that envision massive military and economic might devastating Kim
Jong-il's regime. However, plans to mobilize a South Korea army of 8.9 million,
place nuclear weapons there and engage in false-flag operations not only
threaten to isolate Russia and China, they also bait the North's notorious
willingness for all-out war. - Yong Kwon (Oct
19, '11)
SPEAKING FREELY
North Korea tied to China
While North Korea may wish to not be as reliant on China as it presently is,
the visit by North Korean Prime Minister Choe Yong-rim to China shows that its
domestic policies and global isolation have left it with little choice but to
look to that country to once again ensure it stays afloat. - Bruno de Paiva
(Oct 14, '11)
US, Korea on brink of new trade world
South Korea and the United States are on the brink of a brave new world with
the passage in Washington of the highly contentious free trade pact between the
countries. All that is required now is ratification by politicians in Seoul -
and the real consequences to unfold. - Donald Kirk
(Oct 14, '11)
Anti-elite backlash rocks Seoul
politics
The popularity of independent civic activist Park Won-soon's campaign in this
month's Seoul mayoral election reflects a rising resentment of the elite fueled
by widening wealth gaps, as well as disenchantment with the polarized
two-party system. As chaebol profits soar, the country's family-owned
conglomerates are also increasingly targets of public vitriol. - Steven Borowiec
(Oct 13, '11)
Kim the geek creates digital
Achilles' heel
Cellphones and private computers represent a clear threat to Pyongyang's grip
on power, yet aside from the mysterious Bureau 27, tech-junkie Kim Jong-il has
allowed the devices to proliferate. With social and economic reform taboo in a
"perfect" Stalinist society, Kim views such modern wonders as a panacea to
financial stagnation. This weakness could prove fatal for his regime. - Andrei
Lankov (Oct 12, '11)
Oh no. Oh dear. An honest man bows
out
Former Seoul mayor Oh Se-hoon faces political isolation after a referendum on
the re-introduction of
free school dinners cost him his job. However, his principled stance - that
meals for all students, including the rich, was wasteful and wrong - suggests a
modern, softer face of South Korean conservatism that will be missed at next
year's elections. - Aidan Foster-Carter (Oct
11, '11)
Naval base plan stokes conflict on
Jeju
Protesters on South Korea's Jeju are demanding the government halt plans for a
naval base they say will desecrate the island's scenery, rare species and
tourism industry, but North Korean provocations have intensified Seoul's
efforts to complete construction. Anyway, says Rear Admiral Koo Ok-hyoe, this
will be an "eco-friendly base" and "red-feet crab and narrow-mouthed toad" will
be safely relocated. - Donald Kirk (Oct 7,
'11)
A grand plan for the Korean Peninsula
South Korea is concerned China and the United States have a "grand scheme" to
manage the Korean Peninsula that would see the US engage North Korea and leave
old ally Seoul in the diplomatic cold. The insecurity is fed by a long history
of victimization, colonization and betrayal by great powers. - Sunny Lee
(Oct 7, '11)
Food before politics on North Korea
While the United States indulges in months of scruples over feeding North
Korea, basic economic principles suggest widespread starvation and malnutrition
are real. As the clock ticks, Washington should perhaps consider that the
potentially ruinous burdens of demographic disintegration and insurmountable
health problems could make relenting to food aid a farsighted decision. - Yong
Kwon (Oct 5, '11)
North Korea's power
transition near complete
It is "so far so good" for a smooth power handover in Pyongyang, as the Dear
Leader's youngest son, Kim Jong-eun, grows into his role as successor to Kim
Jong-il, a year after being placed near the top of the country's military. The
"young general" is now reportedly toasted at official dinners and is gradually
being handed "co-governance", although his youth and inexperience leave him an
untested proposition. - Sunny Lee (Oct 5,
'11)
Why 2012 will shake up Asia and the
world
Northeast Asia, the area of the world with the greatest concentration of
economic and military power, is on the verge of a regional transformation. And
the United States, preoccupied with the Middle East, hobbled by a stalled and
stagnating economy and with one eye on the 2012 election season, will be the
odd man out. - John Feffer (Oct 5, '11)
US Navy stays vigilant on Pyongyang
threat
A day aboard the USS George Washington moored off Pusan shows an
American force well committed to supporting their South Korean allies in the
event of conflict with the North. However, its a difficult task for the huge
ship to navigate the ever-shifting realities of provocation on the peninsula. - Donald
Kirk(Sep 30, '11)
US twisted Seoul's arm in drone deal
While South Korea media have reported that the United States has been stalling
for years on the sale of four RQ-4 Global Hawk high-altitude aerial
surveillance drones over technology transfer concerns, an investigation of US
cables revealed by WikiLeaks exposes how the US Embassy has actually been
exerting considerable diplomatic pressure on Seoul to complete the purchase. - Sunny
Lee (Sep 28, '11)
North Korea's women break
taboos
to get food on the table
North Korean women are defying social convention and government policy by
putting on trousers and selling whatever they can in local markets. Pieces of
confectionery from the South are a favorite item, worth as much as several
regular meals when sold in the North. - Ahn Mi-Young
(Sep 26, '11)
South Korea shirks from abducted
issue
Although inter-Korean nuclear negotiations this week raise the prospect of
revived high-level dialogue, the case of tens of thousands of South Koreans
abducted by the North will not be on the agenda. Anguished families - pointing
to Japan's assertive stance on its victims - will demand Pyongyang is pressed
on the issue. However, Seoul is too wary of this killing the fragile
reconciliation. - Donald Kirk (Sep 23, '11)
The importance of being earnest
North Korea would never abolish nuclear weapons as they are seen as pillars of
the military state, yet the United States stubbornly sticks to demands of
complete denuclearization while withholding food aid. Rather than constantly
indulging in hardline rhetoric, Washington could purse the more realistic goals
of ensuring non-proliferation and appealing to Pyongyang's better-dressed, cell
phone-carrying progeny. - Yong Kwon (Sep 23,
'11)
Not all doom and gloom in Pyongyang
Critics see a steady decline in North Korean economic freedoms parallel to a
constantly falling standard of human rights. While in both categories the North
is the world's worst, such findings ignore not only how liberalization has
slightly lifted living standards, but also an incremental easing of the horrors
visited on political prisoners and their families. The change is slight, but
ignoring it is just propaganda. - Andrei Lankov
(Sep 22, '11)
Korean snakes and ladders
Religious delegations, nuclear negotiations and talk of an inter-Korean
orchestra indicate an upturn in North-South relations, but a long, torturous
history of failed openings suggests Pyongyang and Seoul will soon be back at
square one. While rivals like China and Taiwan can see good business sense in
getting along, it seems the Koreas just can't get past politics. - Aidan
Foster-Carter (Sep 22, '11)
Koreas keep up appearances in Beijing
 While
rare inter-Korean negotiations this week on a resumption of six-party talks
will likely see progress on that front, despite appearances, a restart will do
little to reduce nuclear tensions on the peninsula. The dialogue process simply
offers the North a venue to extract concessions, China a chance to improve
"honest broker" credentials and the United States an opportunity to placate
Pyongyang during the 2012 US election campaign. - Sunny Lee
(Sep 21, '11)
A turning point on the Korean
Peninsula?
South Korean President Lee Myung-bak's replacement of a hardline unification
minister signals a major shift in his hawk-like posture towards Pyongyang as
the clock runs down on his one-term presidency. Lee's greatest motivation for
the u-turn is likely avoiding lame-duck charges and electoral defeat for his
Grand National Party, but events from Berlin to Bali have shown momentum rising
for heightened North-South engagement. - Aidan Foster-Carter
(Sep 15, '11)
SPEAKING FREELY
Normality trumps rhetoric in
Yeonpyeong
A stroll through the quiet streets of South Korea's Yeonpyeong Island some nine
months after North Korean shelling killed four people suggests life has
reverted to the slow pace of the past. However, howitzers, bunkers, tanks and
barbed wire fences are constant reminders to stoic residents that the island's
proximity to the North makes it a significant political bargaining chip. - Matthew
Clayton (Sep 14, '11)
North Korea emerges as East Asian hub
Red-carpet treatment for Kim Jong-il during his whistlestop tour of Siberia and
northeast China shows Moscow and Beijing have noted North Korea's emergence as
an energy and trade hub, says Pyongyang's unofficial spokesman. Rising
strategic importance of pipelines and transport links soon to criss-cross North
Korea may put pressure on the United States' hardline policies. - Kim Myong Chol
(Sep 14, '11)
North Korea's forgotten terrorist
A North Korean commando who spent 25 years in a Myanmar jail for the 1983
Rangoon bombing died alone there, bitter at a betrayal by Pyongyang. Captain
Kang Min-chol expected glory when joining the failed assassination attempt on
South Korean president Chun Doo-hwan as agent "9970". Instead, North Korea
denied his existence. Now, a guilt-ridden South Korean spy is writing a book on
the tragic tale. - Sunny Lee (Sep 12, '11)
China sees chaos in Kim Jong-eun's
rise
Chinese academics in Seoul likely reflect Beijing's views when they say the
Dear Leader's appointed heir, Kim Jong-eun, will struggle to rebuild his
father's personality cult, resulting in a "very dangerous" transitional period.
Jong-eun's absence from Kim's China tours has already stressed that Beijing's
enthusiasm for the "young general" is as low as that of the North Korean
military. - Donald Kirk (Sep 9, '11)
South Korea harbors unification
heresy
Enthusiasm for unification is withering in South Korea, even though neither the
right nor the left is happy about it. Deeply ingrained ethnic nationalism in
both competing ideologies make it grave political heresy to openly express
doubts about the need for unification. As North Korea becomes increasingly
irrelevant for a younger generation, a sea-change is in the offing. - Andrei
Lankov (Sep 8, '11)
COMMENT
North Korea and the Genocide
Convention
In breaking every aspect of the Geneva Convention, North Korea's cruelty to
Christians held in camps has no parallel in the world today, says human-rights
activist and missionaryRobert Park, who was detained after crossing the
border. The regime appears bent on destroying its religious population through
gas chambers, experimentation and other genocidal means.
(Sep 8, '11)
Roh sheds light on Russian switch
Plans for a gas pipeline from Russia through North Korea to South Korea are
arousing curiosity about the former Soviet role on the peninsula. The recently
published memoir of former South Korean president Roh Tae-woo, who established
diplomatic relations with Moscow in 1990, shed light on Russia's switch in
allegiance to the South from its Cold War ally in the North. - Sunny Lee
(Sep 7, '11)
Medvedev and Kim make capital
Russia engaged in the diplomatic art of possibilities by entertaining Kim
Jong-il to the prospect of the resumption of multilateral talks over North
Korea's nuclear ambitions. Moscow also had an eye on a grand energy export
prize that may run out of gas, while many see the Dear Leader's recent busy
trips to Russia and China as a preparatory move to strike a deal with the
United States. - Sunny Lee (Sep 1, '11)
Dear Leader plays it smart
Kim Jong-il is playing a clever game. By offering to discuss nonproliferation
and making non-binding promises, he invites other ambitious powers to the table
and protects himself from unanimous international action to force the nuclear
program to an end. Far from isolationist, Pyongyang is reaching out to the
world, much as it did in the 1970s. - Yong Kwon
(Sep 1, '11)
South Korea deepens role in
Central Asia
South Korea President Lee Myung-bak's tour of Mongolia, Uzbekistan and
Kazakhstan significantly expanded Seoul's ties with the three countries,
lubricated by billions of dollars worth of construction and other business
agreements involving Korea's top companies. - Robert M Cutler
(Sep 1, '11)
SPEAKING FREELY
Grand bargaining
reloaded?
Hyun In-taek, South Korea's hardline unification minister, has been replaced by
Yu Woo-ik, a close confidant of President Lee Myung-Bak and a former ambassador
to China. It can be hoped the move does not result in a complete policy
reversal, in a kind of desperate, short-term attempt to cater to voter
sentiment ahead of presidential elections in 2012. - Bernhard Seliger
(Aug 31, '11)
A test for North Korea's deals on wheels
North Korean leader Kim Jong-il chugged into Pyongyang at the weekend after a
marathon journey to Russia. No doubt his 14-car armored train was loaded with
sumptuous gifts; this will be no guarantee that Pyongyang will be able to
fulfill the deals it agreed on at a summit in Siberia with Russia's President
Dmitry Medvedev. - Donald Kirk (Aug 29, '11)
Seoul food vote leaves a sour taste
Seoul Mayor Oh Se-Hoon's attempt to block free lunches in Seoul schools through
a referendum flopped badly, with the 25.7% turnout invalidating the result.
Rather than free rice and kimchi, the issue was rising inequality and
social welfare as conglomerates dominate the economy. Oh cultivated the topic
to burnish his conservative credentials, but now it's made a meal of his
political future. - Steven Borowiec (Aug 25,
'11)
Kim Jong-il: Tactical genius
Moscow and Seoul have long waited for North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's
approval of game-changing inter-Korean pipelines - real ones at that - but he
waited until now to remind China, and the rest of the world, that the great
survivor still has options. - Aidan Foster-Carter
(Aug 25, '11)
Pipeline politics in Kim's Russia visit
Rather than a simple aid-seeking mission, Pyongyang views this week's rare
visit by Kim Jong-il to Russia as a chance to edge closer to Moscow to lessen
its economic dependence on China. The Kremlin, eyeing lucrative energy and rail
links through the North to South Korea that could also boost its diplomatic
standing, is eager to play along. - Sunny Lee
(Aug 22, '11)
Pyongyang's war face is painted on
Fiery North Korean rhetoric denouncing annual United States and South Korean
military exercises this week is undermined by its simultaneous efforts to
wrangle aid to ensure next year's 100th anniversary of Kim Il-sung's birthday
is the party the people were promised. As 530,000 troops mass near the
border for Ulchi Freedom Guardian, Pyongyang's threats of "merciless
counteraction" ring hollow. - Donald Kirk (Aug
19, '11)
These are dangerous games
It would only take a single shot or shell to stray from its target for an
unprecedented thermonuclear conflict to be sparked by the war games, says
Pyongyang's unofficial spokesman. This would see the US consumed in a sea of
raging fire, with ballistic missiles exploding in space over major American
cities. - Kim Myong Chol (Aug 19, '11)
SPEAKING FREELY
North Korea seeks rice deal
Myanmar may be about to supply North Korea with rice, following a meeting in
Yangon between officials from the two countries. With a barter deal the most
likely arrangement, the question is what can impoverished North Korea bring to
the table. Nuclear expertise is one possibility. - Bruno de Paiva
(Aug 18, '11)
How Pyongyang's propaganda backfired
North Korean efforts to paint the South as an impoverished victim of American
colonialism 
backfired in spectacular fashion following the visit from Seoul of glamorous
student activist Im Su-gyong in 1989. What was planned as a major propaganda
coup instead exposed the wealthy, free society in the South. With even small
interactions having a cumulative effect, it's counter-productive that exchanges
are so rare today. - Andrei Lankov (Aug 12,
'11)
Pyongyang plays on Moscow's desire
A North Korean strategy to extort aid from Russia by threatening to exclude it
from nuclear talks has worked well. While improved ties with South Korea have
been lucrative and suited Moscow's desire to stand with the moral majority,
continued defense of the North risks Russia's international standing. - Yong
Kwon (Aug 11, '11)
BOOK REVIEW
In search of a way out
No Exit: North Korea, Nuclear Weapons, and International Security
by Jonathan D Pollack
With the belief that the how and why of the North Korean nuclear impasse must
begin with the country's system and its history, the author consults Cold War
archives, interviews and technical history, among others, to weave together the
evolution of the Hermit Kingdom and its nuclear program. It's a useful
narrative with a detailed, beyond-the-Beltway overview. - Shiran Shen
(Aug 11, '11)
North Korea nears age of affluence
North Korea will emerge as a member of the elite club of strong and prosperous
states by 2012, 
overcoming United States sanctions and a lack of international aid, says
Pyongyang's unofficial spokesman. A major factor in the success is how founding
father Kim Il-sung's leadership skills have lived on in current leader Kim
Jong-il and heir designate Kim Jong-eun. - Kim Myong Chol
(Aug 10, '11)
The secret world of North Korea's new rich
Bourgeois bosses of "state-run" firms thriving in North Korea's black economy
are frequenting the sushi bars and burger joints popping up in Pyongyang, while
the designer clothes of their daughters belie reports of looming famine. The
emerging merchant class views top politicians as parasites, doomed to be
consumed in a conflagration of the regime, but their own existence in
post-reunification Korea is hardly assured. - Andrei Lankov
(Aug 9, '11)
SPEAKING FREELY
Jeju: From peace island to war island
Images behind Paul Yoon's short story collection Once the Shore, which
is set on a imaginary version of Jeju Island in South Korea, have 
switched from fiction to fact as concrete has begun to be poured on coral reefs
to make way for an "eco-friendly" naval base. - John Eperjesi
(Aug 9, '11)
Starving North Korea opens its doors for aid
Western food aid can flow into North Korea after the United Nations' World Food
Program secured "unprecedented" access to monitor its delivery. While the deal
allows for site visits, Internet tracking and physical checks to ensure food
actually reaches the secretive country's estimated 3.5 million hungry, this may
convince the US and South Korean governments to join the effort. - Marwaan
Macan-Markar (Aug 4, '11)
All aboard North Korea's
refugee railroad
North Korean refugees who escape to Southeast Asia are quietly shuttled to
South Korea under secretive arrangements between Seoul and regional
governments, reveal leaked United States diplomatic cables. While Cambodia took
particular care to cover up the underground route - due to historic ties with
Pyongyang - the rising popularity of Thailand's Chiang Rai province has led to
suggestions for a "coordination center". - Sebastian Strangio
(Aug 2, '11)
US-North Korea nuclear talks fizzle out
United States and North Korean negotiations to prepare a new round of six-party
nuclear talks saw stubborn positions taken - just as in the budget wrangling in
the US. "Business-like" discussions or not, the familiar scenario of elevated
hopes followed by disappointment played out to perfection as envoys stuck to
their guns on disarmament. Donald Kirk (Aug
1, '11)
A legal minefield for Korean reunification
Nearly all the North Korean landlords who fled south during the Korean War are
now dead, but the belief is very much alive that the title documents they took
with them could make their descendants very rich. This makes it certain that
the issue of land rights will be politically explosive and a legal minefield in
the event of reunification. - Andrei Lankov (Jul
29, '11)
Why Kim Kye-gwan is so upbeat
North Korea's nuclear negotiator, Kim Kye-gwan, can be confident in meetings
this week in 
Washington since he knows the Americans have staggered from one military
debacle to another since their "mauling" in the Korean War, says Pyongyang's
unofficial spokesman. Kim's position is further boosted by the debt-laden US's
need for a peace treaty. - Kim Myong Chol (Jul
28, '11)
Lee's taxing reunification challenge
South Korea's President Lee Myung-bak is exhorting the public to think about
the possibility of reunification, much to the chagrin of the North. Proposals
due to be announced next month for a tax to help fund the staggering cost will
test whether his economically embattled compatriots are prepared to even think
about paying the price. - Andray Abrahamian (Jul
25, '11)
Pyongyang waitresses sliced to perfection
Elite young North Korean girls selected to work in a network of overseas
restaurants are instructed by Dear Leader Kim Jong-il to undergo cosmetic 
eyelid surgery, even though the operation is so popular the girls would have
done it anyway. A change underway in beauty perceptions from the standard of
plump, moonfaced girls to sharp-nosed Amazons may even impact on Kim's
"Pleasure Squads". - Sunny Lee (Jul 22, '11)
Seoul bristles at inter-Korean apres-ski
While South Korea's conservative leaders are outraged at the notion of North
Korea co-hosting the 2018 Olympic Games won by Pyeongchang, next year's
elections will likely usher in a more reconciliatory administration. Meanwhile,
with the appointment of a familiar face as United States undersecretary of
state and a major Western news agency setting up shop, Pyongyang is scoring
well in diplomatic games. - Donald Kirk (Jul
21, '11)
China, North Korea: Unlikely friends
Everything is rosy with China in a relationship that has stood the test of
history, if you ask the North Koreans. But change the soft focus to zoom in on
detail and a sharper picture emerges of an accommodation as China keeps up
appearances in order to maintain the strategic and economic value of its
sometime belligerent neighbor and Cold War ally. - Sunny Lee
(Jul 20, '11)
Pyongyang takes literary potshots
The North Korean short story The Fifth Photo is a metaphorical tale of a
Soviet girl lured by a Western man into renouncing true socialism, only to end
up as a one-legged prostitute in 
Munich. Like other improbable works, it reinforces North Korean superiority and
warns against heeding seductive foreign voices, with the once-glorified Soviet
Union suffering the treasons of its leaders. - Andrei Lankov
(Jul 20, '11)
South Korea builds 'island fortresses'
South Korea's assertiveness over territorial claims in the East China Sea comes
as its military presence is strengthened in the islands closest to North Korea.
Seoul's efforts to expand the country's territory and bolster control of
disputed zones are at odds with the friendly image portrayed in Pyeongchang
winning the Winter Olympics. - Steven Borowiec
(Jul 19, '11)
Japan-South Korea ties hit turbulence
Japan has banned diplomats from using Korean Air after the airline
directed the maiden flight of an Airbus A380 service over disputed islands
called Takeshima by Japanese and Dokdo by Koreans. The flare-up of the
long-simmering East Asian island feud impacts on the nations' united front
against North Korea's military ambitions and benefits China's muscle-flexing in
the Pacific. - Kosuke Takahashi (Jul 15, '11)
'Mr K' shows Korea's Cold War lingers
South Korea tried to illegally import intercontinental ballistic missiles from
the former Soviet space while the Sunshine policy with North Korea was in full
force, according to recent revelations from an agent known as "Mr K". Add this
anecdote to recent tensions over the Northern Limitation Line as a telling
example of the fissures of mistrust on the Korean Peninsula. - Yong Kwon
(Jul 11, '11)
China puts a hand on North Korean wheel
In contrast to past collaborations, the Chinese leadership's interest in
building economic zones with North Korea is unmistakable: China is looking to
develop its northeast region near the border and wants to apply leverage to
manage North Korean behavior. But grandiose plans don't guarantee success and
amid the new chemistry, North Korea has calculations of its own. - Sunny Lee
(Jul 7, '11)
No country like Korea's snow country
People in the South Korean town of Pyeongchang have been left speechless with
joy over the defeat of European rivals to stage the 
2018 Winter Olympics. As the "snow country" prepares its place on the world
stage, the final test is whether Pyeongchang can emerge victorious as a winter
sports resort for foreign tourists who favor just about any destination other
than Korea. - Donald Kirk (Jul 7, '11)
North Korean girls escape to slavery
Young North Korean girls fleeing starvation to China are increasingly being
sold to Chinese farmers as teenage brides, with their non-existent legal status
making abuse commonplace. Meanwhile, male defectors who make it to South Korea
are finding it impossible to compete and thrive in the fast-paced, modern
society. - Ahn Mi Young (Jul 5, '11)
Nuclear states take on atomic terrorists
While participants at a nuclear terrorism conference insisted proliferation
isn't the same as nuclear terrorism, the South Korean hosts - faced with the
North's multifarious threats - may have disagreed. The conflab mentioned 200
cases of nuclear smuggling a year and that the Fukushima disaster in Japan had
raised terrorists' eyebrows. However, the most frightening revelation was the
lack of international cooperation on show. - Donald Kirk
(Jul 1, '11)
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ATol Specials
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Kim Comes Out
North Korea's nukes and what they mean
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