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October 2, 2008 | Crisis in North Korea: Opportunity for Democracy

The possible regime crisis in N. Korea poses a threat of loose nukes, floods of refugees, and long-term economic upheaval, but is also a great chance to reunite the Peninsula under democratic rule. ++ The US-South Korean Forces may need to intervene to keep WMDs out of the wrong hands. ++ S. Korea fears an economic situation like that after the Berlin Wall, but the longer unification is delayed,

July 16, 2008 | Let's Not Pretend We Make Progress on North Korea

Despite hopeful voices that the six-party talks are on a good way to contain Korean nuclear program, Kim Jong Il gives us no reason to believe he really intends to give up his nuclear weapons. ++ Korean concessions are merely publicity stunts. ++ Symbolically, there were traces of uranium on the very documents submitted to D.C. in which Korea declared to come clean of their program. ++ Taking

July 9, 2008 | Learning our Lessons From North Korea for Iran

“If you want to make peace, you don’t talk to your friends. You talk to your enemies.” ++ The US must heed the lessons learned from North Korea in dealing with Iran’s nuclear ambitions. ++ Had Bush agreed to a dialogue years before Pyongyang’s test explosion in 2006, the US would be negotiating in a position of strength, not weakness. ++ Nations concerned with global security

June 27, 2008 | North Korea's Denuclearization Succeeds

Six-party framework is our best option to achieve the strategic goal of Korea’s denuclearization. ++ Now North Korea is already disabling its plutonium production facility at Yongbyon under the monitoring of US inspectors. ++ The US has no permanent enemies. ++ After North Korea yields its nuclear production records, US president will remove it from the list of State Sponsors of Terrorism.

May 30, 2008 | McCain's Foreign Policy: More Procrastination

The US position vis-a-vis Iran and North Korea has been weakened in the past several years, not out of a reluctance to engage in talks, or because of the emptiness of threats of using force, but because of a failure to formulate a clear-cut policy. ++ As the military option is unrealistic, America should focus on the many diplomatic and economic levers at its disposal. ++ John McCain’s refusal to

May 14, 2008 | US on the Right Track with North Korea

The US should continue its current path in North Korean nuclear negotiations, rather than exiting or stalling talks. ++ It should prioritize verification of North Korea’s plutonium production records, and push towards dismantlement of the Yongbyong reactor. ++ The US can then concurrently work towards confirming the extent of North Korean uranium enrichment, as well as the extent of its nuclear

April 28, 2008 | Slow Negotiation for Denuclearization in North Korea

Having unwisely abandoned the 1994 Clinton deal that kept North Korea from producing plutonium, the Bush administration’s shift from past confrontational rhetoric is promising. ++ A first step is the assessment of plutonium production capacity thanks to disablement of Yongbyon reactor. ++ Easing of vilification and sanctions together with bipartisan support in the US are necessary to get

April 24, 2008 | Appeasement Politics Weakens US Credibility in Asia

Striking North Korea from the terror list, ignoring China’s muscle flexing, and massive military withdrawal from the region, could generate doubt about America’s security commitments for key allies such as Japan. ++ Confusing short-term domestic politics with long-term strategy has proved adverse to US dominance. ++ Australia, among others, looks ahead for a prospective realignment in

April 16, 2008 | Bush Softens on North Korea's Nuclear Aspirations

Bush’s
chief North Korea negotiator recently reached a deal with Pyongyang based on trust and not
verification ++ This hasty compromise before the end of the presidential term, could set a precedent for other nations determined to develop a nuclear program ++ Seoul and Tokyo are left bewildered by this sudden new policy of “appeasement.” ++ Public awareness will prove pivotal.

March 19, 2008 | Bush Cannot Bequeath a Failed North Korea Policy

The protracted Six Party Talks dating back from 2003 enabled Kim Jong-il to gain time and repeatedly violate commitments. ++ If the instrumental support of Russia and China is secured, Bush should dedicate the next 10 months to rectifying concessions by exercising economic and international pressure on North Korea. ++ Nuclear weapons will still be a threat but this would salvage US original

October 18, 2007 | Is North Korea Hoodwinking the US?

Is the North Korean nuclear threat really softening? Remembering that North Korea is famous for extracting financial concessions in nuclear negotiations, Stephan Haggard of the University of California and Marcus Noland of the Peterson Institute argue that the US is simply being hoodwinked again. They warn that since the US-led sanctions, the North Korean economy has suffered and needs the

September 21, 2007 | Israel's Air Force Raid on Syria. Its Silence. And What It All Means.

Wall Street Journal columnist Bret Stephens breaks down the intrigue surrounding Israel’s military operations over Syria on September 6. “In a country of open secrets,” Israel’s customary fleet of spokesmen and pundits has remained conspicuously silent, says Stephens. But why? None of the explanations circulating in the news media—the theory that North Korea was using Syria as a safe

August 30, 2007 | Seoul's Mistaken North-South Summit

The prospect of a bilateral summit between North and South Korea is laudable, but Bruce Klinger from the Heritage Foundation is suspicious of the motives and the timing of South Korean President Roh Moo Hyun. With national presidential elections approaching, it is in Roh’s interest to gain public approval for unilateral aid to Pyongyang. Such uncoordinated diplomacy benefits North Korea

April 12, 2007 | Robert D. Kaplan on When North Korea Falls

North Korean nuclear tests are symptoms of an unheralded threat: not the exertion of North Korean strength, but the prospective collapse of Kim Jong Il’s government. Weakness in Pyongyang could result in desperation, a WMD attack on the South, or full-on military engagement with Seoul. Drawing on this possibility of collapse, Robert D. Kaplan discusses opportunities for:

1. Reconstruction and