Special to WorldTribune.com By Donald Kirk, East-Asia-Intel.com They formed one of the oddest, blood-stained duos in Asian history. Cambodia’s king and prince and then king again, Norodom Sihanouk, bonded with North Korea’s “Great Leader” Kim Il-Sung for reasons that had to do with their mutual hatred of the United States. Never did the adage, the […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Donald Kirk, East-Asia-Intel.com The North Koreans have got to love this one. The ruckus over disputed islands gets so much play in Korea and Japan that Koreans and Japanese tend to forget they’ve got a real enemy lurking somewhere over the 38th parallel. That would be North Korea, whose strategists may […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Lee Jong-Heon, East-Asia-Intel.com SEOUL — Ri Yong-Ho, the most ardent supporter of late North Korean ruler Kim Jong-Il’s “military-first” policy, was purged because he had complained about youthful new ruler Kim Jong-Un’s push for policy changes, sources and officials in Seoul say. But Ri’s dismissal could encourage his supporters and hardline […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Lee Jong-Heon, East-Asia-Intel.com A growing number of North Koreans are starving to death, even in the country’s grain belt on the southwest coast, despite increased crop yields because soldiers and state officials are extorting the grain. A defector who fled the North last summer said members of the ruling class would […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Lee Jong-Heon, East-Asia-Intel.com A campaign is in full swing in North Korea to craft the image of Kim Jong-Un as “healthy, energetic, friendly and able,” government officials in Seoul said. Kim, the third son of the country’s late ruler Kim Jong-Il, was unknown to the outside world and even to the […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Donald Kirk, East-Asia-Intel.com SEOUL — No doubt about it, United States negotiator Glyn Davies got suckered into one of the all-time negotiating tricks when he fell for the deal with North Korea’s veteran double-talker Kim Kye-Gwan on Feb. 29 in which Kim convinced him, really, this time North Korea would honor […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Lee Jong-Heon, East-Asia-Intel.com SEOUL — North Korea’s young new ruler Kim Jong-Un has executed a number of senior military officers since failing to win the support he wanted from the People’s Army, despite focusing his efforts on the military since taking power in December, according to intelligence sources cited in news […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Donald Kirk, East-Asia-Intel.com SEOUL — The resurgence of Vladimir Putin as president of Russia ushers in a new era of power politics and diplomacy in Northeast Asia with implications that may not be good news for either the United States or China. Campaigning against strong opposition from the educated, intellectual, often […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By East-Asia-Intel.com”>Lee Jong-Heon, East-Asia-Intel.com North Korea’s newly-installed ruler Kim Jong-Un has been accelerating efforts to form his own independent power base, placing individuals loyal to him in key positions of authority after purging a number of potential rivals, sources in Seoul said. “A series of reshuffles are undergoing in the Party, the […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Donald Kirk, East-Asia-Intel.com SEOUL — North Korea’s promise to give up or at least suspend its nuclear program clearly forces the end of the seemingly tough policies enunciated by South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak after he took office four years ago. No way can Lee appear as the strong leader who […]