Washington pushes Seoul After a long period of waiting and inaction, the United States is finally showing some dissatisfaction with the lack of progress in inter-Korean dialogue. Washington had set improvement of North-South relations as a precondition to the resumption o..
North Korea policy For all the debates and discussions during the last three years and a half since the start of the Lee Myung-bak government, it is still not clear how the President is trying to approach North Korea.
Truth of secret contacts Regarding the Beijing secret contacts between the North and the South that took place since May 9 this year, both sides are claiming different versions of what had transpired in those talks. This latest episode of controversy involves two factual q..
Pyongyangs dependency on Beijing In the wake of the completion of North Korean leader Kim Jong-ils latest visit to China, the punditocracy is still struggling to determine what to make of it. Whether Kim will be more inclined to or be able to undertake economic reforms as pushed..
Predictable and unpredictable It was predictable that North Korea would, and it did, turn down President Lee Myung-baks offer of a conditional invitation to Kim Jong-il to attend the next Nuclear Security Summit (NSS) to be hosted by Seoul in March 2012. The conditions requir..
Variables for 2012 elections Of the two major news developments last week Jimmy Carters visit to the North and the outcome of the by-elections in the South I choose the latter to write about, as significant implications arise for the 2012 presidential elections that wil..
Prelude to big elections Ten days from today on April 27, South Korea will hold by-elections to choose three new members for the national legislature, one provincial governor and several lesser administrative officials including chiefs for six gun (county) and gu (municipa..
Track II diplomacy on N. Korea Given Washingtons prolonged policy of refusing to engage Pyongyang, the North Koreans seem to have been more responsive to opportunities for Track II Diplomacy, involving non-government actors of the United States. To open the door to dialogue or..
Tsunami, Japan and Korea Japans earthquake and tsunami raises an unanswerable question of life and the world. For all human advances in science, none could predict when or where the tectonic earthquake would claim over 7,000 lives and destroy properties in the northeast ..
Spot checks on N. Korea The repatriation of 27 North Koreans who drifted into the South Korean waters by a fishing boat a month ago had become an issue that may affect the prospects of inter-Korean dialogue that ended with a recent failed preparatory military talk at Panm..
No solution in sight After the breakdown of working-level inter-Korean military talks on Feb. 9, it became more difficult to predict when the North might come back to hold dialogue with the South or if they would at all. Now it is uncertain when the opportunity might ..
Debate on dialogue I am writing this column just days before the holding of working-level military talks between the North and South on February 8. Frankly, I am getting tired of writing about North Korea, as it entails an endless cycle of hope, frustration, and thre..
Parsing of Obama-Hu summit The Washington summit between President Barack Obama of the United States and President Hu Jintao of China on Jan. 19, regardless of U.S. intention, publicly marked the beginning of an era of shared influence, leadership and responsibility by the G..
From tension to talks It is far more comforting to talk about talks than to discuss the dangers of war on the Korean Peninsula. Last year was full of tension and confrontation between the North and South, which culminated in the sinking of the ship the Cheonan allegedly..
Price of confrontation It is the Christmas holiday season and time to wish for ``peace on earth, good will toward men. But, the leaders of both Koreas are shunning this holy message for human aspiration.
A question of war and peace The Korean Peninsula has been thrown into perhaps the worst security crisis in decades that may even lead to an unwanted limited war, of which the scope and duration are unpredictable. The belligerent rhetoric and more possible provocations from th..
Challenges from Yeonpyeong North Koreas indiscriminate artillery attack of Yeonpyong Island, killing two South Korean marines and two civilians while injuring 20 more people, was an intolerable and inexcusable provocation that deserves strong condemnation. An exchange of a..
