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Wed, September 26, 2018 | 17:25

Opinion > Columnists > Donald Kirk >

So much for Libyan example

John Bolton, U.S. President Donald Trump's national security adviser, may be hawkish and conservative, but at least you had to credit him with sophistication and having insights on the issues and the people whom he was confronting. In the course of many visits to Korea, he often displayed understanding on the realities of dealing with the North and the need for strong countermeasures against rising threats from the Kim dynasty.

Donald Kirk | 2018-05-03 17:19

Playing the blame game

CHICAGO - If the 1950-53 Korean War is America's “forgotten war,” the Jeju uprising that erupted 70 years ago last month is America's non-war. Ask U.S. officials about America's responsibility for the strife that cost the lives of about 30,000 people on Jeju from April 3, 1948, to 1954, and they profess either to know nothing about it or to deny that Americans had anything to do with it. Whatever the Americans might say, however, a movement led by the Memorial Committee for the 70th Anniversary of the Jeju April 3 Uprising and Massacre, based in Jeju, pins much of the blame on the U.S.

Donald Kirk | 2018-05-01 16:46

Dreaming of 'peace'

WASHINGTON - Here's a hard truth that's certifiable by any rudimentary review of modern Korean history: the real news about Korea catches almost everyone by surprise.

Donald Kirk | 2018-04-26 20:31

'Options' for war and/or peace

In our obsession over prospects for peace on the Korean Peninsula, it's easy to forget what may be a more immediate, more serious clash of regional and great powers 8,000 kilometers away.

Donald Kirk | 2018-04-12 20:09

Taking odds on those summits

Here's a gambling game that Trump/Korea watchers might consider playing. How about odds on Trump meeting Kim Jong-un? That's a serious question considering the White House insists on those familiar initials, CVID, Complete, Verifiable, Irreversible Denuclearization of the North's nuclear program.

Donald Kirk | 2018-04-05 16:07

China and North Korea, best friends forever

There is a certain inevitability about China's need for North Korea and the North's need for China. The two may intuitively hate one another, but they can hardly stay apart in the regional tug of war. It's been that way ever since Chinese forces poured into North Korea to stave off the Americans who had reached the Yalu River line between the two, several months after the North Koreans invaded South Korea in June 1950.

Donald Kirk | 2018-03-29 17:11

Fears of flying

U.S. President Donald Trump is in such hot water in Washington that his summit with Kim Jong-un, if it actually happens, will be either a distraction or a welcome relief from the pressure-cooker atmosphere at home.

Donald Kirk | 2018-03-22 16:52

Fantasizing 'regime change'

In the excitement over impending summits, we may have forgotten one other solution everyone was talking about, oh, just a month or two ago. Whatever happened to all the enthusiasm for forcing Kim Jong-un out of his job by internal upheaval, external attack, or maybe just a plain old heart attack? Just because he's seeing President Moon Jae-in later next month and then maybe President Donald Trump in May, should we forget about “regime change”?

Donald Kirk | 2018-03-15 16:32

'Maybe this time'?

Don't hold your breath. We've been disappointed so often in moves toward North-South reconciliation that it's hard to believe any face-to-face talks between President Moon Jae-in and North Korea's “respected leader” Kim Jong-un will lead to resolution of a nuclear crisis that's only worsened in recent years.

Donald Kirk | 2018-03-08 16:59

Russian scammers, Olympic style

PYEONGCHANG -- Now I know firsthand what they're talking about when they say the Russians are tricky. Yes, they've gotten into American and other websites, tried to sway the U.S. presidential election and are not to be trusted, but those were media reports. In an era of fake news, how could anyone be sure?

Donald Kirk | 2018-03-01 16:40

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Inter-Korean Summit in Pyongyang