Special to WorldTribune.com By Donald Kirk Editors’ Note: North Korea is demanding demolition by South Korea of the entire resort area at the base of Mount Geumgang (Diamond). The tourist facilities were built with investment, mostly from Hyundai, of more than $2 billion. South Korea closed tours from the South in 2008 after a South Korean woman […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Donald Kirk SEOUL — Americans hardly know how to respond to all those American flags seen in central Seoul on Saturday afternoons and evenings. Initially, as Korean conservatives began flying the Stars and Stripes at conservative rallies after the impeachment, ouster and jailing of Park Geun-Hye in 2016 and 2017, Americans […]
by WorldTribune Staff, October 14, 2019 Scandal-plagued South Korean Justice Minister Cho Kuk resigned on Oct. 14 as the opposition turned up the heat on the leftist Moon Jae-In administration, charging a dual system of justice and discrimination against North Korean defectors. On Oct. 9, thousands of protesters jammed the streets near City Hall in […]
by WorldTribune Staff, October 3, 2019 The Washington dramas were half a world away for an estimated 3 million generally conservative protesters in Seoul near City Hall on Oct. 3. Despite several rival rallies, the demonstrators — some waving Korean and American flags — were unified in calling for the ouster of South Korean President Moon Jae-In […]
by WorldTribune Staff, October 3, 2019 The United States has asked South Korea to reconsider its rushed termination of a military intelligence sharing pact with Japan that rocked the regional alliance against China and North Korea. John Rood, U.S. undersecretary of defense for policy, called on Seoul to renew the General Security of Military Information […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Donald Kirk WASHINGTON ― President Donald Trump’s thinking on a deal with North Korea is difficult to figure out. He’s less transparent, actually, than Kim Jong-Un. We know perfectly well that Kim is not about to give up his nuclear weapons program, including the missiles to send them to distant targets. […]
FPI / September 29, 2019 Geostrategy-Direct.com [Editor’s note: The following was written by Jong Ho-Ri, a former senior North Korean economic official. His last assignment was in Dalian, China as head of the Korea Daehung Trading Corporation, which is managed by Office 39, a clandestine organization under direct control of the ruling Kim family. Office […]
by WorldTribune Staff, September 27, 2019 Seoul’s City Council Hall is decked out in decorations celebrating the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China. “Are we China’s vassal state? Have we ever celebrated another country’s founding day?” one South Korean resident asked, according to a Sept. 27 report by the East […]
by WorldTribune Staff, September 19, 2019 South Korean President Moon Jae-In pushed through his appointment of Cho Kuk to head up the country’s Justice Ministry despite numerous allegations of “unethical and illegal activities,” a report said. Allegations against the newly-appointed Justice Minister include “corruption, abuse of power, and subversive activities against the state,” Tara O, […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Donald Kirk TOKYO ― Kim Jong-Un must be happy now. What could have made him feel better than for his friend President Donald Trump to dump John Bolton as national security adviser? As Trump made clear, he and Bolton disagreed on many things, notably the Middle East, Iran and Afghanistan. Bolton’s […]