Special to WorldTribune.com By Donald Kirk, EastAsiaIntel.com Donald Trump may be running neck and neck with Hillary Clinton in the U.S. presidential sweepstakes if the polls are at all credible, but there’s one constituency in which he appears to be well ahead. That’s within the ruling circles in Pyongyang. He’s winning popularity there for two […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — “Economic activity in the world economy remains lackluster, with little prospect for a turnaround in 2016,” cites the gloomy prognosis by the World Economic Situation and Prospects Update for 2016. The UN survey cautions that weak global growth “continues to linger,” posing a serious challenge […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Donald Kirk, EastAsiaIntel.com GWANGJU ― The ghosts of the uprising of May 18, 1980, hover over this old but new city in a restive spirit that shows the disunity, the factional splits and the regional hatreds that persist in undermining the ability of South Korea to stand effectively against challenges from […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — Stressing that terrorism “can only be defeated by a sustained and comprehensive approach” involving the active participation and collaboration of all States, the UN Security Council hosted an open debate on developing a counter-narrative campaign to in effect dissuade, discourage and ultimately defuse this widening […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Donald Kirk, EastAsiaIntel.com We keep hearing about all the influence the Chinese have over North Korea. If only they’d exert their power, maybe cut off or slow down the flow of oil that’s the lifeblood of the country, then the North Koreans would start talking seriously about giving up their nukes. […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — When I first visited Estonia over twenty years ago, the Baltic country had recently regained its independence from the Soviet Union. Tallinn, the capital and an old Hanseatic trading city, offered an intriguing mix of medieval architecture and shoddy Soviet style construction. Situated on the […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Donald Kirk, EastAsiaIntel.com Kim Jong-Un celebrates his “coronation” in Pyongyang Friday while forgetting about one unpleasant reality that deepens North Korea’s isolation in an already hostile world. He presides over North Korea’s biggest-ever party, the Seventh Workers’ Party Congress, while Iran, his longtime partner in nuclear crime, vastly improves its ties […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — Governments throughout the world seem increasingly nervous if not paranoid over a free press and media, according to a searingly poignant survey by Reporters Without Borders (RSF). The annual survey of the global media in 180 countries, the French-based monitor report underscores a gradual deterioration […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Donald Kirk, EastAsiaIntel.com Russian documentary filmmaker Vitaly Mansky has managed to bamboozle his North Korean hosts in a confidence game that’s one of the greater journalistic coups ever scored against the regime. Mansky, having given the North Koreans the clear impression that he wanted to collaborate fully with them, totally deceived […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler NEW YORK CITY — The seemingly never ending presidential primary circus came through New York with the predictable partisan name calling and puerile political promises. For much of the campaign the political charges and arguments resembled peeved sandbox kicking kindergarten kids more than serious adults running for the […]