By Barbara Slavin While the Trump administration has focused on perceived threats from Muslim and Latin American immigrants, a more serious challenge for United States policymakers is North Korea’s advancing missile and nuclear programs. On February 12, the North Koreans fired what experts said was an intermediate-range ballistic missile known as the Musudan. It flew […]
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Preparing for North Korea’s Inevitable Collapse
Posted September 21st, 2016 at 10:49 am (UTC-5)
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Crimes against humanity generally cost a regime its legitimacy, if not its sovereignty. And yet most national security professionals would regard the collapse of the North Korean slave state as a calamity. The reason for this is simple: all the nuclear weapons and material.
The Coming Confrontation with North Korea
Posted September 20th, 2016 at 1:52 pm (UTC-5)
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Absent a major intervention, it is only a matter of time before North Korea increases its nuclear arsenal (now estimated at 8-12 devices) and figures out how to miniaturize its weapons for delivery by missiles of increasing range and accuracy.
Why Kim Jong Un Tested a Nuclear Warhead Now
Posted September 9th, 2016 at 10:26 am (UTC-5)
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[F]rom all indications, the Kim regime tested at this time because it realized China would not impose costs for the detonation….At the moment, Beijing is far more upset with Seoul than Pyongyang….With Beijing upset at Seoul, the North Koreans evidently think they can do what they want.
South Korea Must Learn to Defend Itself — Without America
Posted August 1st, 2016 at 12:07 pm (UTC-5)
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It makes no sense to force the American people to defend the South Korean people if the latter aren’t willing to defend themselves. Washington should not treat security guarantees as international welfare.
The Unwavering Alliance
Posted July 19th, 2016 at 10:57 am (UTC-5)
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[N]o one should ever doubt America’s resolve to continue to strengthen the rules-based-order and architecture of the Asia-Pacific region, or our deep and abiding commitment to our alliance…Any political rhetoric to the contrary…should be taken with than a grain of salt on both sides of the Pacific.
China Must Confront Its North Korea Problem
Posted April 12th, 2016 at 12:08 pm (UTC-5)
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China does not want millions of refugees running north or violent conflict bursting out to the south. Beijing would lose if reunification turned its buffer into an advanced base for U.S. containment policy. The PRC wants to preserve economic preferences which have been dearly bought….The United States needs a different strategy.
China Struggles for Balance in Response to North Korea’s Boldness
Posted February 8th, 2016 at 10:09 am (UTC-5)
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It is unclear how long President Xi Jinping of China will tolerate what some analysts here are calling the humiliation of his country at the hands of a capricious Mr. Kim. But there are no immediate signs that Beijing will radically change course and turn away from its traditional ally.
North Korea: China’s Tar Baby
Posted January 13th, 2016 at 8:37 am (UTC-5)
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[T]he only real reason North Korea has yet to collapse is China’s largesse. … Why does China continue to prop up a regime that, as the “tar baby” of Asia, increasingly threatens to drag China itself into the vortex of nuclear war?
Is It Time to Intervene in North Korea?
Posted January 11th, 2016 at 2:03 pm (UTC-5)
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It appears to me quite logical that North Korea will keep lying to its own people, to the world, to itself to secure its ways. But what about our lies? Why does no one ever talk about the obvious solution of an intervention?
North Korea’s Latest Nuclear Test Tests Global Limits
Posted January 6th, 2016 at 4:37 pm (UTC-5)
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North Korea’s boastful announcement that it tested a hydrogen bomb is being met with condemnation, skepticism and concern. The United States, United Nations, NATO, China and Russia all condemned the nuclear test. But the White House is casting doubt on the technological leap Pyongyang claims, saying “the initial analysis is not consistent with … a successful hydrogen bomb test.” A final determination is weeks away as the International Atomic Energy Agency and other intelligence gathering agencies investigate. In the meantime, diplomats are considering another round of economic sanctions North Korea as punishment. And foreign policy experts are weighing in on the possible fallout from this test: that is, whether or not North Korea has gone from fission to fusion.
President Park Should Publicly Apologize for South Korea’s Sexual Violence in Vietnam
Posted October 14th, 2015 at 11:04 am (UTC-5)
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Forty years ago, Park Chung-hee – the current president’s father and a former general, led over 320,000 of his U.S.-allied troops into the War in Vietnam. Throughout the war, South Korean soldiers violently raped and sexually assaulted thousands of young women, some as young as 13 and 14 years of age.