South Korea’s Moon Steers Toward Inter-Korean Unity While Wind from Washington Blows in His Face

South Korea’s Moon Steers Toward Inter-Korean Unity While Wind from Washington Blows in His Face

At the height of U.S. power following Japan’s defeat, Washington itself wrote the rules of the game for the Korean Peninsula — whether others are willing to continue playing along indefinitely remains another question entirely.
by Elliott Gabriel

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA – South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in marked the anniversary of Korea’s independence from Japanese colonialism with a robust call for the economic integration of North and South Korea as a means to achieve “survival and development” as well as “true liberation” for the long-divided nation.

Prosecutors seek 12-year sentence for Samsung heir

Prosecutors seek 12-year sentence for Samsung heir



Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong walks into a courtroom for his final hearing at the Seoul Central District Court in southern Seoul, Monday. / Yonhap

By Jung Min-ho

Prosecutors are seeking 12 years in prison for Lee Jae-yong, the de facto head of the Samsung Group, on charges of giving bribes to former President Park Geun-hye and her friend Choi Soon-sil.

Today's Nuclear North Korea Is Yesterday's China: Lessons From History

THE KOREAS

Image Credit: неизвестный via Wikimedia Commons
Today's Nuclear North Korea Is Yesterday's China: Lessons From History

North Korea isn’t the first Asian communist state to acquire a nuclear ICBM capability of concern to the United States.
By Yevgen Sautin

North Korea’s recent successful intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) tests have put Pyongyang on the cusp of having the means to credibly threaten the continental United States with a nuclear strike. The Trump administration has vowed to “not allow” North Korea to continue on its “destructive path” but so far has not put forth specific new policies to stop Pyongyang. Since the latest test, several senior administration officials have stepped up their rhetoric, labeling the DPRK as the most urgent threat facing the United States and stating that it is “unimaginable” to allow North Korea to have the capability to attack the U.S. mainland.

Today's Nuclear North Korea Is Yesterday's China: Lessons From History

τoday's Nuclear North Korea Is Yesterday's China: Lessons From History

North Korea isn’t the first Asian communist state to acquire a nuclear ICBM capability of concern to the United States.
By Yevgen Sautin

North Korea’s recent successful intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) tests have put Pyongyang on the cusp of having the means to credibly threaten the continental United States with a nuclear strike. The Trump administration has vowed to “not allow” North Korea to continue on its “destructive path” but so far has not put forth specific new policies to stop Pyongyang. Since the latest test, several senior administration officials have stepped up their rhetoric, labeling the DPRK as the most urgent threat facing the United States and stating that it is “unimaginable” to allow North Korea to have the capability to attack the U.S. mainland.

As U.S. policymakers ponder how to deal with North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs, it is important to remember that we are not in uncharted territory. The United States found itself in a similar situation more than 50 years ago, when faced with the prospect of Maoist China going nuclear. Then as now, experts questioned if rational decision makers were behind the nuclear controls of a reclusive communist state and military options — no matter how risky — were seriously considered. Despite initially having great fears about the prospect of a nuclear China, both the

North Korea is sitting on a stockpile of minerals worth trillions

North Korea is sitting on a stockpile of minerals worth trillions
CHRIS WELLER

is notorious for its totalitarian regime and human rights violations. Fewer people may realize the secretive country is also sitting on trillions in untapped wealth.

Embedded deep beneath the country's mountainous zones are some 200 varietiesof minerals, including gold, iron, copper, zinc, magnesite, limestone, tungsten, and graphite, Quartz reports.

Some of these stockpiles are among the largest in the world, and North Korea, a tiny and cash-strapped nation, frequently uses them to bring in additional revenue — no matter the laws against doing so.
The total value of these minerals lies somewhere between $6 trillion and $10 trillion.

But the country is too poor to create the infrastructure needed to export the minerals — at least in large enough quantities to make a dent in its overall wealth. Still reliant on China, South Korea, and Russia for its financial and energy needs, North Korea has only made small deals with neighboring countries.

South Korea: US Was Only Supposed To Install One Missile Defense Launcher This Year

South Korea: US Was Only Supposed To Install One Missile Defense Launcher This Year
Shortly after his election, South Korea's president announced that he’d learned the US had sent four additional un-approved launchers to the site.
By Jason Ditz | Antiwar.com |


South Korean protesters stage a rally to oppose the plan to deploy the advanced U.S. missile defense system called Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, near the U.S. Embassy in Seoul, South Korea, April 29, 2017 (AP/Ahn Young-joon)

THAAD Deployment: What to Expect From South Korea’s New President

THAAD Deployment: What to Expect From South Korea’s New President
© REUTERS/ USFK/YonhapASIA & PACIFIC
New South Korean President Moon Jae-in may slow down the deployment of THAAD missile defense systems to the region, but he will not dismantle the already deployed systems, political analyst Konstantin Asmolov told Sputnik.

South Korea elects Moon, and sunshine (policy) could be on its way

South Korea elects Moon, and sunshine (policy) could be on its way
Ed Jones/AFP/Getty Images

On Monday, South Korean voters chose Moon Jae-in as their next president. He is a liberal who plans to limit the power of big business in a country known for its anti-labor policies. He is also a child of North Korean refugees and aims to reshape the country’s policy for dealing with its turbulent neighbor, North Korea. [New York Times / Choe Sang-Hun]

South Korea’s Presidential Election: Potential For A New EU Role In The Korean Peninsula

South Korea’s Presidential Election: Potential For A New EU Role In The Korean Peninsula
Posted By Members' Research Service ⋅
Written by Enrico D’Ambrogio,
© Rawf8 / Fotolia

South Korea has been shaken by a succession of corruption scandals involving politicians, judges, senior officials, businessmen and even academics.

Korean War- Documentary Film 1950-1953

www.fotavgeia.blogspot.com

South Korea's 3 Foreign Policy Blind Spots

Αrt2501 Τριτη 28 Φεβρουαρίου 2017
South Korea's 3 Foreign Policy Blind Spots
South Korean policymakers refuse to acknowledge three basic realities that should shape foreign policy.
By Ben Forney
This is a precarious moment for the Republic of Korea. The president has been impeached following a corruption scandal and nationwide protests. Korea’s export-based economy is hampered by a slowdown in global trade and increased competition from emerging markets. Several of Korea’s largest conglomerates are facing drastic cuts to avoid bankruptcy, resulting in thousands of lost jobs.