South Korea Archives - Page 9 of 31 - Foreign Policy In Focus

Iraq and the Limits of U.S. Power

by Paul Mutter | Mar 19, 2012

“Washington has lost a valuable opportunity to nurture and support a key counterweight to Iranian influence among Shiites in the Arab world,” lament Danielle Pletka and Gary Schmitt of the neoconservative American Enterprise Institute in an op-ed for the Washington Post. They subsequently call on the Obama administration to bulk up its already grossly overloaded staff at the gigantic U.S. embassy in Baghdad. But in these few words, the two writers fleshed out a more fundamental concern for hawkish pundits in the Middle East: the fear of a “Shia Crescent” of Iranian-backed regimes in Bagdad, Beirut, and Damascus linking the Mediterranean Sea and the Persian Gulf.

Resuming Contact with North Korea

by Greg Chaffin | Feb 24, 2012

On February 24, representatives from the United States and North Korea will meet for the first time since talks halted following the death of Kim Jong-il in December. Shortly after talks broke off, the two sides were reportedly close to brokering a deal that would have seen the DPRK halt uranium enrichment in return for much needed food aid. Such a deal would have represented a major diplomatic breakthrough, particularly in light of the tumultuous events of the last year and a half and a major step towards restarting the Six Party Talks. However, the death of Kim Jong-il prevented finalization of the agreement as North Korea inevitably shifted all its focus to ensuring the stability of the regime now centered on Kim Jong-il’s third son and heir, Kim Jong-un.

South Korea Cracks Down on Dissent

by Christine Ahn | Feb 16, 2012

On February 8, the South Korean National Intelligence Service (NIS) raided the Seoul and Incheon offices of the South Korean NGO, Solidarity for Peace and Reunification in Korea (SPARK) for violating the National Security Law (NSL). The NIS also searched the homes of two of SPARK’s leadership, confiscated their notebooks and cell phones, andshut down the server of its website, Jinbo.net.

A Korean Spring?

by Christine Ahn | Jan 4, 2012

As 2011 came to a close, the death of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il took the world by surprise (including the CIA which, like the rest of us, only learned of his passing 48 hours later). Given the dearth of understanding about North Korea in the West, the media could only speculate about the future of the new regime in Pyongyang. The usual pundits also took the opportunity to renew their calls for regime change. After all, 2011 was the year when the masses rose up to overthrow repressive regimes; could the same fate be in store for North Korea?

The Other Kim

by John Feffer | Jan 3, 2012

South Korean parliamentarian Kim Geun-Tae was a soft-spoken man passionately dedicated to promoting peace and reunification on the Korean peninsula.

Popping the Jeju Bubble

by Matthew Hoey | Dec 14, 2011

With parliamentary and presidential elections coming up in 2012, South Korea is in the midst of its very first social-network-driven political season on the world’s stage. After nearly half a decade of the conservative policies of the Lee Myung Bak administration, Koreans seem ready to swing back to the left. The election in October of a progressive as the mayor of Seoul heralds this trend. This race also served as a beta test for an effective web-based campaign model in Korea. A key test issue for the opposition is the naval base that the government is constructing on Jeju Island.

The Militarization of Paradise

by John Feffer | Nov 11, 2011

The South Korean government has been campaigning to have its southern island of Jeju recognised as one of the seven new wonders of nature. A favourite honeymoon spot in Asia and an official “island of peace,” Jeju already boasts several UNESCO World Natural Heritage sites. There’s an extinct volcano at the island’s centre, miles and miles of exquisite coastline, extraordinary lava formations on land and coral formations at sea, and…a huge naval base currently under construction.

Playing With Fire on the Korean Peninsula

by Conn Hallinan | Nov 9, 2011

The six-party talks may or may not resolve the nuclear crisis on the Korean Peninsula, but they are the only game in town.

Seoul Salvation

by John Feffer | Nov 8, 2011

His name was on the lips of everyone I talked with in South Korea last week. As an underdog with little name recognition but a long history of progressive organizing, he came from behind late last month to become the new mayor of Seoul.

Remember his name. Park Won Soon is perhaps the first politician to win with an Occupy Wall Street platform.

Breaking Down Bases

by John Feffer | Nov 1, 2011

Earlier this month, Montana Democrat Jon Tester and Texas Republican Kay Bailey Hutchison introduced a proposal to create a commission to evaluate U.S. military presence overseas. The bill does hold out the possibility that such a commission might recommend opening new bases overseas. But that’s just hedging bets. Tester and Hutchison are committed to examining “the potential benefits and savings realized by closing outdated overseas military bases.”