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Hither and Yon

Predicting the unfolding Korean history? Don’t bother

January 11, 2018

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  Read More 
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Darkest Hour? Churchill, Chamberlain and today’s North Korean dilemma

December 28, 2017
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  Read More 
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No B1 bomber can touch North Korea’s elite geek squad

December 21, 2017

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 “preemptive attack” on  Read More 
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Turns out the U.S. may not be able to afford Korean War II

By World Tribune on December 14, 2017

Special to WorldTribune.com

By Donald Kirk

WASHINGTON -- A lot of people here, from right to left politically, think war on the Korean peninsula is imminent.

Kim Jong-Un, they say, is eager to order a seventh nuclear test as well as test shots of intercontinental ballistic missiles. And would  Read More 
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Has CIA report set the countdown clock for Korean War II?

December 7, 2017
Special to WorldTribune.com

By Donald Kirk

WASHINGTON – The CIA has struck alarm bells here with a top-secret report to President Trump telling him he has just three months to stop North Korea from having the ability to fire a nuclear warhead at the United States.

The report has deepened the bitter divide  Read More 
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‘Rocket man’ gives everyone a break from tedious news cycles

November 30, 2017
Special to WorldTribune.com

By Donald Kirk

WASHINGTON ― He had to do it, didn’t he? Just when the optimists were saying, well, it’s been a few weeks since the last one, maybe he’s learned his lesson.

What lesson?

Kim Jong-Un (aka, “Rocket man”) sails on, oblivious  Read More 
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Fog, policy prevented a shoulder-to-shoulder stand at DMZ

November 9, 2017
Special to WorldTribune.com

By Donald Kirk

At least Donald Trump gave it a shot. He really wanted to make it up to Panmunjom but was turned back by the weather.

For most visitors, the fog that hung over the line between North and South Korea would not have been too much for  Read More 
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Trump in Asia will find ‘daylight’ between U.S. and South Korea policies for Pyongyang

November 3, 2017
Special to WorldTribune.com

By Donald Kirk

President Donald Trump faces obstacles when he gets to Seoul next week that have nothing to do with unruly mobs trying to shout loudly enough over mega-loudspeakers for him to hear them across rows of policemen in body armor.

No doubt Trump’s handlers will come  Read More 
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Japan’s ‘peace constitution’ on the brink as NE Asia braces for war

October 27, 2017
Special to WorldTribune.com

By Donald Kirk

TOKYO -- The overwhelming success of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in the latest elections for members of the Japanese “Diet” ― the peculiar word for Japan’s parliament or national assembly ― portends hardening of tensions and priorities in Northeast Asia.

Yes, Abe would dearly like to revise Japan’ Read More 
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The Seoul Air Show, an exercise by U.S. ‘decapitation’ team and daydreams of a Trump-Kim sit-down at the DMZ

October 20, 2017
Special to WorldTribune.com

By Donald Kirk

The line-up of warplanes on display beside the runway at Seoul Air Base has got to be intimidating. The sight of the latest American F35s and F22s along with all those South Korean fighters may  Read More 
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