Category: North Korea

Moon says willing to meet N. Korean leader at any time under right conditions [LINK]

Kim Jong Un, Moon Jae In, North Korea, South Korea

6 July, South Korean President Moon Jae-in called on Pyongyang to return to the dialogue table, noting it may be facing the last and best chance to do so. It was a stark message to convey: South Korea is willing to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at any time and any place under right circumstances.

“I make this clear here and now. We do not want North Korea’s collapse, nor will we seek any form of unification (with North Korea) by absorption,” Moon said.

This reference to not seek unification infers that the Kim regime can rest assured that it will be facing an existential threat by engaging in talks. This is a  pivot from previous narratives promulgated by South Korean administrations, which base their policies on the ultimate goal of reunification under South Korea auspices.

Read full story at Yonhap News:

http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/national/2017/07/06/0301000000AEN20170706012200315.html

South Korea’s president suggests 2030 World Cup bid with North Korea

North Korea, South Korea

Image result for south korea north korea soccer

 

According to the Guardian article, South Korea’s president, Moon Jae-in, has suggested North Korea could be part of a bid to co-host the 2030 World Cup. In a meeting with the Fifa president, Gianni Infantino, Moon said that several countries in north-east Asia – including the isolated North Korea – could form a bloc to share hosting duties for the tournament.

 

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2017/jun/12/south-korea-president-suggests-cohosting-2030-world-cup-north-korea?CMP=fb_gu

 

What North Korea learned from Libya’s descent into anarchy? (How Kim Jong Un learned to love the bomb)

Gaddafi, Kim Jong Un, Libya, North Korea, Nuclear

Kim Jung Un’s sanity has been questioned for years. He is characterised and satirised as an unhinged megalomaniac. He is attributed with an apocalyptic desire to annihilate large parts of the world’s population by instigating a nuclear war.

However, a counter-argument can be made that Kim Jung Un is, in fact, a rational actor.

North Korea’s nuclear development pursuits have cost the country a large percentage of its GDP, crippled its economic growth potential, isolated itself from the modern world and ultimately starved, stunted and subjected its citizens in this “social utoipa” for generations.

Yes, such actions  are cruel and tyrannical, but they do not qualify as irrational from a game theory standpoint.

Continue reading “What North Korea learned from Libya’s descent into anarchy? (How Kim Jong Un learned to love the bomb)” →

Is North Korea the main benefactor of South Korea’s current political scandal?

China, North Korea, South China Sea, South Korea, Uncategorized

north-korea-kim-jong-un-s-405606

Widespread public backlash has been surging throughout South Korea since it was uncovered that Park Geun-hye, President of South Korea, had been seeking the advice of a woman named Choi Soon-sil, the daughter of an alleged shamanistic cult leader (!) Continue reading “Is North Korea the main benefactor of South Korea’s current political scandal?” →

The Madman Theory of diplomacy from Nixon to Trump: shrewd brinkmanship or dangerous naivety?

Duterte, Kissinger, Nixon, North Korea, Philippines, Russia, South China Sea, Trump, US, Vietnam
Richard M. Nixon
Photo credit: http://www.salon.com

In 1968, Richard Nixon was elected US President.  He ran with a foreign policy platform promising to end the internecine war in Vietnam and allow the US to withdraw from the quagmire in South East Asia.v

Continue reading “The Madman Theory of diplomacy from Nixon to Trump: shrewd brinkmanship or dangerous naivety?” →