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Hither and Yon

Newly-designated U.S. envoy to Seoul: ‘We are in a dramatically different place’ after summit

June 15, 2018
Special to WorldTribune.com

By Donald Kirk

SINGAPORE – U.S. and South Korean military people are deeply concerned about the prospect of giving up joint military exercises while the presidents of both their countries remain convinced that North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-Un is really going to get rid of his nuclear program.

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What is tough guy Kim Yong-Chol’s game and what happened in China on his way to NY?

June 1, 2018
Special to WorldTribune.com

By Donald Kirk

It does look like Singapore is on again. You can’t have so many emissaries going back and forth, between Pyongyang and New York, between Washington and Singapore, between Pyongyang and Singapore, between Manila and Panmunjeom, without thinking these guys are serious, something’s up.

What,  Read More 
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I would put down my money on the summit, and here’s why

May 27, 2018

Special to WorldTribune.com

By Donald Kirk

It is time now to calculate the odds on whether President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un meet up even if not quite as scheduled on June 12 in Singapore.

I’ve heard just about everything ¯ from 99 to 1 in favor to 99 to 1 against ¯ so often  Read More 
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Smoke and mirrors: Kim wants world to witness destruction of already-obliterated test site

May 17, 2018

Special to WorldTribune.com

By Donald Kirk

It’s not enough that North Korea should abruptly cancel South-North talks on military tensions and another long-awaited round of reunions of fast-fading families divided by the 1950-53 Korean War. Now we’re not even sure Kim Jong-Un will go through with his summit with U. Read More 
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Beware the ‘Vietnam model’ in negotiating ‘peace’ on the Korean peninsula

May 13, 2018

Special to WorldTribune.com

By Donald Kirk

What is this disturbing nonsense we sometimes hear about a “Vietnam model” for permanent peace on the Korean peninsula?

Whoever’s talking about that either has to be joking or is totally unaware of the tragedy that befell South Vietnam after the signing of the “Paris  Read More 
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Both Koreas and the world want to know: What is Trump thinking?

May 7, 2018

By Donald Kirk

Forget about the U.S. pulling troops from Korea any time soon. It’s not going to happen, at least to judge by the denials from the White House and President Trump’s national security adviser, John Bolton.

“Utter nonsense,” was all Bolton had to say about a report that  Read More 
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Bolton and the plight of de-nuked dictators: Will Kim share Gadhafi’s fate?

May 4, 2018, Special to WorldTribune.com

By Donald Kirk

John Bolton, U.S. President Donald Trump’s national security adviser, may be hawkish and conservative, but at least you had to credit him with sophistication and insights on the issues and the people whom he was confronting.

In the course of many visits to  Read More 
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Real news in Korea always comes as a complete surprise

Special to WorldTribune.com

By Donald Kirk

Here’s a hard truth that’s certifiable by any rudimentary review of modern Korean history: the real news about Korea catches almost everyone by surprise.

Who, for instance, would have predicted the outbreak of the Korean War nearly seven decades ago? Who knew, in the  Read More 
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Why the blind spot for China by the American intelligentsia?

April 5, 2018
Special to WorldTribune.com

By Donald Kirk

China remains the darling of western, particularly American, intellectuals and academicians even though under President Xi Jinping it’s reverting to the dictatorial habits of the era of Mao Zedung.

The system is not only incredibly corrupt but also authoritarian. We hear constantly about suppression of  Read More 
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China and North Korea, best friends forever?

March 29, 2018

Special to WorldTribune.com

By Donald Kirk

There is a certain inevitability about China’s need for North Korea and the North’s need for China. The two may intuitively hate one another, but they can hardly stay apart in the regional tug of war. It’s been that way ever since Chinese  Read More 
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