Special to WorldTribune.com By Donald Kirk Time is running out for President Moon Jae-In. He has barely more than half a year to leave a legacy in Korean and world history as the leader responsible for bringing permanent peace at last to Korea, North and South. He would like nothing better than to step down […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Donald Kirk SEOUL — The insistence of a pair of brothers on scattering hundreds of thousands of leaflets from balloons fired over North Korea confronts the South with tough questions. Is it worth upsetting North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un and his sister, Kim Yo-Jong, knowing the negative effects the leaflets are […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Donald Kirk North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un has dodged a bullet, meaning the onslaught of speculation about whether he was dead or alive, ill or just avoiding the coronavirus. It’s amazing how quickly and easily many of us were taken in by the initial report on the Daily NK, based on […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Donald Kirk, East-Asia-Intel.com Dennis Rodman while in North Korea might have asked his friend “Kim” about North Korea and Syria. Too bad he missed the chance, along with any notion of getting “Kim” to “do me a solid,” as he once put it, and let him bring Kenneth Bae out of […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Donald Kirk, East-Asia-Intel.com Sometimes you have to wonder when reading the top stories how much people are really thinking about some of the implications. Take this running story about Edward Snowden. It’s a fun read, and it would not be a good idea to put him in jail for a lot […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Lee Jong-Heon, East-Asia-Intel.com North Korean troops have demolished villages near the border with China and forcibly relocated residents to prevent defections that could threaten the Kim Jong-Un regime, sources in Seoul said. “North Korea has been tearing down villages along the Duman (Tumen) River and relocating villagers to places further from the border,” […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Lee Jong-Heon, East-Asia-Intel.com SEOUL — North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un’s two-week absence from the state media propaganda feed coincided with a reduction in the stream of belligerent threats against South Korea and the West. This has in turn triggered speculation of a coup against the youthful dictator. But government officials and analysts in […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Parris H. Chang In diplomacy, an inch can be longer than a foot, and the weak can wield greater leverage over the strong. This is why North Korea, a rogue state, impoverished and vulnerable is able to irritate, bully and even threaten the two superpowers, the U.S. and China. For many […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Donald Kirk, East-Asia-Intel.com Memories and images of Margaret Thatcher and her legacy as displayed in the media this week evoke an obvious question: What would the Iron Lady have done about North Korea? The answer would seem clear. It’s hard to imagine the woman who dispatched troops to the Falklands in […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Willy Lam, East-Asia-Intel.com Communist Party General Secretary and commander-in-chief Xi Jinping has asked the nation’s military and police forces to take full precautions regarding the possible collapse of the Kim Jung-Un regime. Chinese sources close to the foreign-policy establishment said earlier this week that Xi, who chairs the Communist Party’s Central […]