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 Donald Kirk, EastAsiaIntel.com WASHINGTON – Credit someone in North Korea with a sense of historical irony. Who would have thought anyone up there would have dreamed of writing an imaginary letter from Abraham Lincoln to President Obama berating him for endorsing harsh UN sanctions and failing to halt the U.S. nuclear […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Donald Kirk, EastAsiaIntel.com WASHINGTON – The hype surrounding President Obama’s visit to Cuba quickly gave way to fear and loathing as the world absorbed the news of the slaughter perpetrated in Brussels, for which ISIL, the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant, immediately claimed “credit.” No sooner were we treated to […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Donald Kirk, EastAsiaIntel.com President Park Geun-Hye is pursuing a fight-talk strategy. On Monday, South Korean gunners staged a live-fire exercise in waters well within hearing range of North Korea’s southwestern coast. Next, North and South Korean negotiators were planning to meet at Panmunjom. The contrast between military drills and diplomacy suggests […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Donald Kirk, EastAsiaIntel.com Correspondents by the time they reach a certain age may look back on an extraordinary range of people encountered in odd situations and settings. We all have stories to tell, uniquely our own, rich and varied, few more so than Sol Sanders, who spent years in capitals ranging […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Donald Kirk, EastAsiaIntel.com The spectacle of mass migrations is a permanent phenomenon of our times. Images of refugees risking lives to escape oppressive regimes, starvation, war and mayhem are embedded in our subconscious. Think of the thousands who escaped from Vietnam after the defeat of the American-backed Saigon regime, fleeing across […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Donald Kirk, East-Asia-Intel.com The Greeks made a deal to reform their free-spending ways and stay in the European Union, while the Iranians agreed to restrain their nuclear ambitions and crawl out from under onerous sanctions. Can anyone imagine two such crucial agreements in the space of two days? After all those […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Donald Kirk, East-Asia-Intel.com It’s a time for anniversaries and memories of the tragedies that have afflicted Northeast Asia over the past century. On Tuesday, the Japanese remembered the horror of the single worst battle in Asian history, the three-month struggle for Okinawa. The battle ended with the final defeat of the […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Donald Kirk, East-Asia-Intel.com Defectors from North Korea all have harrowing tales of suffering that are difficult to imagine in real life. Their stories differ widely depending on the circumstances — some have spent time in prisons, most have not. Many have been hungry, or have seen relatives and friends starve to […]