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Sun, October 21, 2018 | 01:16

Opinion > Columnists > John Burton >

Korea's economic cul-de-sac

Korea is likely to be among the most vulnerable economies in Asia if the Sino-American trade war escalates. While Korea's economic strength rests on exports, this also proves to be its biggest weakness when global trade slows.

John Burton | 2018-10-15 17:39

When Moon Jae-in was elected Korean President last year, the general consensus among most pundits in Washington, D.C., was that relations between him and U.S. President Donald Trump would be tense, mirroring the troubled relationship between the administrations of the liberal Roh Moo-hyun and conservative George W. Bush in the 2000s.

John Burton | 2018-10-01 18:02

North Korea's road to riches

Seymour Hersh, one of America's most prominent investigative journalists, recently spoke about a psychological profile of Kim Jong-un, based on electronic intercepts, that was done by a team of top experts for the U.S. government. They concluded that Kim “has a real desire to have money. He wants to be a leader in tourism,” Hersh said.

John Burton | 2018-09-17 19:15

Calm before the storm?

The North Korean nuclear issue abruptly fell off the radar of most in Washington, D.C. this summer in the wake of U.S. President Donald Trump's summit with Kim Jung-un on June 12 in Singapore. The war-like rhetoric about North Korea was suddenly toned down as U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo traveled to Pyongyang to negotiate the details of the Trump-Kim accord to denuclearize North Korea.

John Burton | 2018-09-03 17:01

Koreans as well as many Americans are bewildered by the actions of Donald Trump. But perhaps the best way to understand him is that while he is the first outright demagogue to occupy the White House, many of his policies are coherent and consistent if they are viewed in the context of the American populist movement that stretches back to the 19th century. What Trump is doing has a long historical pedigree in the U.S.

John Burton | 2018-08-20 17:14

Korea's sizzling summer

Korea is not the only country to suffer record high temperatures this summer. A global heat wave is taking its toll on other regions ranging from North America and Scandinavia to the African Sahel and South Asia.

John Burton | 2018-08-06 17:40

The landslide victory for President Moon Jae-in's party in local elections last month has promised to give momentum to his ambitious economic reforms. But the recent backlash against such populist measures as raising the minimum wage suggests he still faces a tough fight in implementing them.

John Burton | 2018-07-23 17:24

Where are the Korean voices?

A month after the Singapore summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, the consensus in the U.S. media remains largely negative about the event. There have been recent reports based on intelligence leaks from the Pentagon, for example, that Pyongyang is continuing to expand its nuclear and missile programs despite its promises to Trump that it would denuclearize.

John Burton | 2018-07-09 17:27

Why Trump is right on North Korea

If the Singapore summit had been a Broadway production, it would have been closed by now due to a critical panning. The U.S. media has largely dismissed the event as a typical piece of Trump showbiz without much substance. The Singapore Declaration is seen as lacking details to support Pyongyang's promise to denuclearize, with Trump falling victim to the trickery of a wily Oriental despot.

John Burton | 2018-06-25 17:24

What to look for at the summit

No one believes anymore that the summit in Singapore between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will lead to Pyongyang immediately giving up its nuclear and missile programs. Many thorny issues remain such as what is meant by “denuclearization” of the Korean Peninsula. Does that mean just that North Korea would eventually dismantle its nuclear and missile programs or that the U.S. will also withdraw its nuclear umbrella from the peninsula?

John Burton | 2018-06-11 17:46

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