Special to WorldTribune.com By Donald Kirk The South Pacific is again a battleground. China is not nearly at the stage of taking over any of the 15 islands stretching across the region of Oceania, but it’s definitely disturbing the foes of Chinese expansionism. This week, China’s foreign minister, Wang Yi, is touching down on eight […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Donald Kirk Time is running out for President Moon Jae-In. He has barely more than half a year to leave a legacy in Korean and world history as the leader responsible for bringing permanent peace at last to Korea, North and South. He would like nothing better than to step down […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Donald Kirk The acronym AUKUS, when you try to pronounce it, sounds like some weird wild animal, an AUKUS. The initials stand for Australia, U.K., U.S., but to the North Koreans and their Chinese masters,they might as well spell the exotic name of one of those strange beasts that only inhabits […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Donald Kirk Millions remember exactly what they were doing when first hearing about awful events. The day John F. Kennedy was shot, November 22, 1963, I’d been sleeping after an overnight shift for a newspaper in New York. For some reason, I had to call about paying a parking ticket. The […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Donald Kirk This nightmare scenario comes to mind: the Chinese have invaded South Korea in the name of the North Koreans, who are sort of an auxiliary force, and the wobbly, weak-kneed American president decides the South Koreans can fight on their own with no American troops, no U.S. air or […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Donald Kirk South Korean leadership, by banning defectors from launching balloons wafting leaflets over North Korea, has struck a devastating blow against free speech and freedom of information in both Koreas. The anti-leaflet legislation is inspiring an adverse reaction not only in Seoul but also at the United Nations and in […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Donald Kirk The North Korean economy is in such dire straits that none of the experts know quite what to do about it other than beg Kim Jong-Un, please, sir, reform the economy and do away with your nuclear program in return for sanctions relief and a lot of aid. If […]
Special to WorldTribune.com [Editor’s Note: Far East Correspondent Donald Kirk is back in the United States on leave.] By Donald Kirk WASHINGTON — The outbreak of protests in cities and even small communities across the U.S. reveals not only the extremes but also the confusion in American life. While the liberal media focuses on the […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Donald Kirk China looms like an enormous bullying giant above its borders with India stretching more than 4,000 kilometers from the high Himalayas to the west to more mountains and lower level frontiers to the east. In between is Nepal, over which China wields increasing influence, and Bhutan, which is tied […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Donald Kirk SEOUL — The insistence of a pair of brothers on scattering hundreds of thousands of leaflets from balloons fired over North Korea confronts the South with tough questions. Is it worth upsetting North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un and his sister, Kim Yo-Jong, knowing the negative effects the leaflets are […]