Economics, Politics and Public Policy in East Asia and the Pacific
Author: Robert A. Manning, Atlantic Council
Successful summits tend to be more about symbolism than substance.
South Korean President Park Geun-hye’s summit with US President Barack Obama certainly had its share of symbolism:the first foreign trip of South Korea’s new first woman President; the 60th anniversary of the US–ROK alliance; and US–ROK messages to North Korea, Japan and China. Read more…
Authors: Bruno Hellendorff, GRIP, and Thierry Kellner, ULB
Tensions have ratcheted up on the Korean Peninsula since Pyongyang’s successful launch of an ICBM-like rocket in December 2012.
North Korea, a country famous for its sabre rattling, has tuned up its bellicose rhetoric in the face of international condemnation. Read more…
Author: Keeseok Kim, KNU and ANU
‘A bluffing game’ may be an apt expression for the brinkmanship and tit-for-tat threats that have overrun the Korean Peninsula since the launch of a long-range missile in December 2012.
The two Korean leaders and the United States have engaged in aggressive rhetoric accompanied by displays of military capability, while the situation has spiralled into declarations of war and talk of a ‘pre-emptive nuclear strike’ on US territory. Read more…
Author: Aidan Foster-Carter, Leeds University
Tensions on the Korean peninsula have grown, relentlessly stoked by the North.
Pyongyang is no stranger to fierce rhetoric, but this time it seems to have burst all bounds — including explicit threats of pre-emptive nuclear strikes on the United States, South Korea and Japan. Read more…
Author: Andrei Lankov, Kookmin University and ANU
If the world media is to be believed, the Korean Peninsula is now on the brink of war. Indeed, over the last few days the North Korean government has been engaged in some seriously bellicose rhetoric. Read more…
Author: Robert A. Manning, Atlantic Council
North Korea’s recent nuclear test was a stark reminder to China that the days of a ‘lips and teeth’ relationship with Pyongyang, of Mao Zedong and Kim Il-sung half a century ago, are long gone.
Nuclear test after nuclear test, missile test after missile test, Pyongyang has time after time ignored Beijing’s pleas not to take provocative actions.
Author: Hitoshi Tanaka, JCIE
With the transfer of power to Kim Jong-un just over a year ago, there was some hope that he would chart a course for reform and opening. Two rocket launches last year and a third nuclear test in February have all but killed any such hopes. Read more…
Author: Mark Caprio, Rikkyo University
On a list of Americans most likely to publicly appear with DPRK leader Kim Jong-un, Dennis Rodman would not be the most unlikely person, but he has to be pretty far down the list.
Yet on 28 February the ex-NBA star sat alongside Kim as three members of the Harlem Globetrotters basketball team joined North Korean hoopsters in a game that fittingly ended in a non-conclusive 110–110 tie. Read more…
Author: Peter Drysdale, Editor, East Asia Forum
North Korea’s latest nuclear test, on 12 February, has left the international community in a quandary about what to do to rein in Pyongyang’s ambitions for nuclear power status. Read more…
Author: Jia Qingguo, Peking University
China has persistently tried to help North Korea to sustain its economy and shield it from tougher international reactions to its unpredictable and threatening behaviour on the development of nuclear weapons and missiles.
But despite this help, Pyongyang does not seem to listen to Beijing. Read more…
Author: Artyom Lukin, FEFU
The international community has unanimously condemned the nuclear test conducted by North Korea on 12 February 2013.
But the danger emanating from the DPRK’s nuclear and missile programs is perceived in very different ways by the key players in Northeast Asia. Read more…
Author: Ron Huisken, ANU
Pyongyang’s third nuclear test, conducted on 13 February 2013, sparked a flurry of commentary on what to do next.
All the familiar and varied themes of response have been refreshed — toughen the sanctions and accelerate countermeasures (especially against ballistic missiles), engage North Korea unreservedly, Read more…
Author: Tessa Morris-Suzuki, ANU
North Korea’s latest nuclear test has, both literally and figuratively, sent seismic shockwaves around Northeast Asia.
The negative repercussions of the test will be most directly felt by the long-suffering people of North Korea itself, who desperately need the better living conditions that can only be achieved through increased international cooperation. Read more…
Author: Emma Campbell, ANU
It might seem that the passing resemblance of Canberra to Pyongyang sealed the decision by the DPRK to reopen its embassy to Australia, but the real motivations behind the move are unclear.
The announcement was greeted with a cautious acceptance on the part of the Australian government. It should be welcomed as an opportunity to re-engage with the isolated nation. Read more…
Authors: Eddie Walsh and Mark Jansson, FAS
When Google’s executive chairman, Eric Schmidt, and former New Mexico governor Bill Richardson headed to the DPRK in early January they certainly turned some heads.
Many viewed their trip as undermining Western efforts to secure stronger sanctions, following North Korea’s ballistic missile launch in December 2012. Read more…