S. Korea proposes direct talks with North as U.S. prepares new sanctions

S. Korea proposes direct talks with North as U.S. prepares new sanctions

by WorldTribune Staff, July 17, 2017 The government of South Korean President Moon Jae-In has made its first formal overture to North Korea, proposing direct military talks between Seoul and Pyongyang. South Korea’s Defense Ministry proposed talks between representatives of the two countries’ militaries that would be held on July 21 at Tongil-gak on the […]

Heartburn in Pyongyang as ‘puppet’ from Seoul visits White House

Heartburn in Pyongyang as ‘puppet’ from Seoul visits White House

Special to WorldTribune.com By Donald Kirk WASHINGTON – Pro-Northers have got to be more than a little disappointed by the recent summit between the presidents of the Republic of Korea and the United States. Judging from all the blather they were emitting before the summit, the pro-North crowd would have far rather seen President Moon […]

Talk, talk, launch: S. Korea’s Moon huddled with Obama three days after meeting Trump

Talk, talk, launch: S. Korea’s Moon huddled with Obama three days after meeting Trump

by WorldTribune Staff, July 4, 2017 North Korea celebrated America’s Independence Day with the morning launch of what it announced was its first ICBM. Meanwhile, just a short cruise missile flight south of the DMZ, former President Barack Obama debriefed South Korea’s new President Moon Jae-In on Moon’s meetings three days earlier at the White […]

Military option in the works for North Korea as Trump meets South’s leftist leader

Military option in the works for North Korea as Trump meets South’s leftist leader

by WorldTribune Staff, June 29, 2017 The United States is preparing military options to deal with North Korea, President Donald Trump’s national security adviser said. “The threat is much more immediate now and so it’s clear that we can’t repeat the same approach – failed approach of the past,” H.R. McMaster said on June 28 […]

Seoul’s new leftist government sets reform of intelligence agencies

Seoul’s new leftist government sets reform of intelligence agencies

by WorldTribune Staff, June 19, 2017 The administration of liberal South Korean President Moon Jae-In has moved to reform the country’s intelligence agencies, which the president during his campaign accused of illegal meddling in domestic politics. The National Intelligence Service (NIS) committee set up two task forces which will be assigned to overhauling the South’s […]

‘Streetwise’ Rodman is back in Pyongyang . . . at The Donald’s behest?

‘Streetwise’ Rodman is back in Pyongyang . . . at The Donald’s behest?

by WorldTribune Staff, June 13, 2017 Sports diplomacy is on display on two fronts in North Korea. Ex-basketball star Dennis Rodman is traveling to North Korea “as a private citizen” for another visit to the communist nation, a senior Trump administration official confirmed to Fox News. As Rodman headed to Pyongyang, South Korea’s liberal president […]

From ‘Sunshine’ to ‘Moonshine’: Seoul bureaucrats debate name for new N. Korea policy

From ‘Sunshine’ to ‘Moonshine’: Seoul bureaucrats debate name for new N. Korea policy

by WorldTribune Staff, June 11, 2017 Seoul insiders and observers are suggesting that liberal South Korean President Moon Jae-In name his North Korea policy “Moonshine” in the spirit of former liberal leader Kim Dae-Jung’s “Sunshine” policy. Both Koreas have political systems that assign unification of the divided country as the top priority. The Korean War […]

Peace through hot air: Talking in circles at the ‘Jeju Forum for Peace and Prosperity’

Peace through hot air: Talking in circles at the ‘Jeju Forum for Peace and Prosperity’

Special to WorldTribune.com By Donald Kirk JEJU ― Gary Samore of the Belfer Center at Harvard, formerly with the Obama administration, suggested at the annual Jeju Forum for Peace and Prosperity that resolution of North Korea’s nukes-and-missiles program may be insoluble. That sense weighs heavily on policy-makers in Seoul and Washington. How can Koreans and […]

China counsels ‘countries concerned’ to remain calm as N. Korean missile crisis intensifies

China counsels ‘countries concerned’ to remain calm as N. Korean missile crisis intensifies

by WorldTribune Staff, June 8, 2017 What is China doing to check the weapons of mass destruction programs of its top communist ally? Nations that are “concerned” by North Korea’s continuous missile tests should refrain from taking “any action that could escalate regional tensions,” China’s Foreign Ministry said on June 8. Those “concerned countries” should […]

New South Korean president suspends THAAD deployment in bow to China

New South Korean president suspends THAAD deployment in bow to China

by WorldTribune Staff, June 7, 2017 Newly elected South Korea President Moon Jae-In, who has said Seoul must “learn to say no” to Washington, has suspended the deployment of the U.S. THAAD missile defense system in what was seen as a major concession to China. A senior official from the presidential Blue House in Seoul […]