Strong feelings, East and West, about the ‘Forgotten War’

Strong feelings, East and West, about the ‘Forgotten War’

Special to WorldTribune.com By Donald Kirk, East-Asia-Intel.com WASHINGTON — Looking at those tight-knit squares of goose-stepping North Korean troops on TV, you wonder if they’re the same ones every time. Do they hang out at some special base going through their paces day after day so they’ll be picture perfect whenever called on to show […]

Why talking nice in California was slightly better than not talking at all

Why talking nice in California was slightly better than not talking at all

Special to WorldTribune.com By Donald Kirk, East-Asia-Intel.com Ok, the North-South talks fizzled when neither could agree on who was truly “ministerial.” Now the question is when, how, or if the talks will happen. No matter, the Xi-Obama summit has to be viewed as a success in view of the post-summit sideshow between negotiators of North […]

General Thurman? North Korea on the line sir

General Thurman? North Korea on the line sir

Special to WorldTribune.com By Donald Kirk, East-Asia-Intel.com Pyongyang’s claim to have called Gen. James Thurman, commander of U.S. Forces Korea, to warn him about “a grave situation” on the Korean Peninsula inspires speculation about what the general and his caller from the North might have talked about. North Korea did not say who made the […]

The power politics of mourning Kim Jong-Il: It’s complicated

The power politics of mourning Kim Jong-Il: It’s complicated

Special to WorldTribune.com By Donald Kirk, East-Asia-Intel.com SEOUL — North Korea is playing a skillful game of funeral diplomacy and politics that’s dividing South Koreans and leaving everyone to wonder who’s doing what to whom in the corridors of power in Pyongyang. All North Korean strategists have had to do is issue a huge welcome […]