Special to WorldTribune.com By Donald Kirk WASHINGTON ― Ah, let the games begin! The fun and games, that is, of seeing how the clever North Koreans play the Winter Olympics for all they’re worth. For sure, North Korean strategists are looking for a diplomatic and political triumph regardless of who wins what at PyeongChang and […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Donald Kirk WASHINGTON ― Uh oh. Watch for all the soothsayers putting in their two cents or two won worth on the future of the Korean Peninsula, post-PyeongChang. Beware of the cognoscenti with dire forecasts of capitulation to the evil Northers, with hopeful words of peace at last, with demands for […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — Surging crowds thronged the streets of Tehran and cities across Iran screaming Death to the Shah, Death to America. A situation brewing for a few years reached its boiling point with the return of an obscure Ayatollah from exile. The old order collapsed as the […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Donald Kirk WASHINGTON – North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un is planning more missile tests even as he tries to split the historic South Korea-U.S. alliance with a skillfully worded offer of North-South dialogue and North Korean participation in the upcoming Pyeongchang Winter Olympics. The widespread view here is that Kim has […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — Consulting my crystal snow globe reveals a blizzard of events, many of them unpredictable which await us in the New Year. And after 2017’s roller coaster and often bizarre political events, it’s difficult to believe that 2018 may hold many unexpected surprises. UN Secretary General […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Donald Kirk This article by WorldTribune.com columnist Donald Kirk was first published today at the South China Morning Post. The timing of the Winter Olympics, in the South Korean mountain district of Pyeongchang in February, could not be better – or worse. By hinting at sending a team, North Korea’s leader […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Donald Kirk WASHINGTON ― Historical comparisons can be terribly flawed. Bearing that in mind, I could not help but think of talk about talks with North Korea while watching a new British film, “Darkest Hour,” all about Winston Churchill in the darkest early days of World War II spurning pleas to […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — The USA and Israel suffered a nasty diplomatic slap when the 193 member UN General Assembly voted overwhelmingly to condemn the Trump Administration’s plan to move the American Embassy to Jerusalem. But while the mainstream media and the usual chorus of critics presented this lopsided […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Donald Kirk WASHINGTON ― Here’s a target the deadliest, most accurate missile isn’t going to touch: the computers in North Korea that are responsible for wreaking havoc around the world. It’s all very well to talk about “the military option” or even a “pre-emptive attack” on a North Korean nuclear and […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — A riveting Security Council session condemned North Korea for its Nuclear proliferation and illegal ballistic missile firings. The meeting at the Ministerial level saw Foreign Ministers and delegates nearly universally condemn Pyongyang’s provocative actions which have brought the world to the brink of conflict. Now […]
