South Korea should focus less on extracting apologies from North Korea and more on pursuing pragmatic projects with Pyongyang.
North Korea’s Sorry Politics
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John Feffer
Iran Deal: Is Obama Channeling Nixon?
The nuclear deal with Iran, like Nixon’s opening to China in 1972, has the potential to be a geopolitical game changer — if it can get through Congress first.
Why the World Is Becoming the Un-Sweden
Convergence theory predicted that the world would become like Swedish social democracy. Why has the opposite happened?
The Madness of THAAD
The US push for missile defense in Asia will only lead to more missiles and less defense.
Summit: Post-Playground Politics
When two young boys square off in the school playground, they will often appeal to higher powers. "My big brother can beat up your big brother!" they cry out as a scare tactic. Even if the two kids don’t come to blows, one will still try to impress the other by claiming that his elder brother is stronger, richer, or more successful.
60-Second Expert: U.S.-Korea Relations
The United States and North Korea are negotiating a resolution to the current nuclear crisis. Enthusiasm in Washington for regime collapse in Pyongyang has died down. But the United States hasn’t changed its fundamental approach to Northeast Asia.
Three Hard Truths
After finally receiving $24 million in frozen assets, North Korea shut down its nuclear reactor at Yongbyon in July. The optimists cautiously celebrated the move as the first step toward the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula and the eventual establishment of diplomatic relations between Washington and Pyongyang. The pessimists drolly pointed out that we’re back to where we were in 2002, except that now North Korea has a whole lot more nuclear material and possibly a bomb to boot.
Screening North Korea
Film poster for A Schoolgirl’s Diary. Photo by Nicholas Bonner.