Special to WorldTribune.com By Donald Kirk, East-Asia-Intel.com MANCHESTER, England — The Brits face a problem that Koreans might — or might not — appreciate. By now Koreans have gotten thoroughly used to zipping up and down the Republic of Korea, that is, the Korean peninsula south of the DMZ, on super-fast trains at relatively inexpensive […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Lee Jong-Heon, East-Asia-Intel.com North Korea independently built most of the key parts of the long-range rocket it launched in December 2012, indicating that the destitute nation has the capacity to build intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) capable of delivering a nuclear weapon to the U.S., South Korean official said. After analyzing the […]
Sol W. Sanders BEIJING – Only a few hours in this capital of a country with 1.3 billion people are enough to pose the question of whether the control of the Communist Party may not be cracking under the growing strains accompanying the exposure of its economy to the outside world. Stalin perhaps had […]
John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — Shortly after the Security Council unanimously condemned the recent North Korean missile launch and demanded that the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea abandon nuclear testing, Pyongyang’s rulers decided to up the political ante. They announced that they are on the verge of a third nuclear test and for good […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Donald Kirk, East-Asia-Intel.com WASHINGTON — A mood of collective celebration swept over the American capital as President Barack Obama entered his second term under clear skies in freezing temperatures. It was as though the country were taking a break from fears about the economy, the next “fiscal cliff” and debate on […]
Sol W. Sanders Tokyo – Japan’s new Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is racing against time. His recent landslide victory was a vote against the fumbling incumbent Democratic Party of Japan, which was from its inception a collection of diametrically opposed ideological partners. It scooped up leftwing socialists and disgruntled conservatives who left Abe’s “government” […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Lee Jong-Heon, East-Asia-Intel.com Fleeing North Korea has been increasingly difficult due to tightened border controls and stronger internal security measures since the country’s new ruler Kim Jong-Un assumed power a year ago, South Korean officials and sources say. But defectors in Seoul say that desperate North Koreans will keep trying to […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Willy Lam, East-Asia-Intel.com General Secretary and Commander-in-chief Xi Jinping is set to continue the “pro-Russian” policy of his predecessor, Hu Jintao, as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leadership becomes more nervous than ever over Washington’s perceived “anti-China containment policy.” While meeting with Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev in Beijing on […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Donald Kirk, East-Asia-Intel.com The visit of Google Chairman Eric Schmidt to North Korea this week raises intriguing questions about Internet usage there to which we may not get real answers for a long time. Belatedly, North Korea has had to open access to the Internet to highly select elite that includes […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Willy Lam, East-Asia-Intel.com Xi Jinping, newly anointed general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), has lost no time laying down what will likely be a leitmotif of his 10-year tenure: promoting “constitutional Socialism with Chinese characteristics.” This so-called “Back to the [Chinese] Constitution” movement will be kicked off after fellow […]
