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Sun, September 23, 2018 | 04:10

Opinion > Columnists > Lee Seong-hyon >

China's shift on Korean peace declaration

Chinese leader Xi Jinping reportedly said he would willingly bless a trilateral peace declaration to end the Korean War. If true, that would signify that Beijing has made a concession to help break the current North Korea-U.S. stalemate in denuclearization talks.

Lee Seong-hyon | 2018-09-18 17:04

Mao, Kim Il-sung and the 'Dongbei' region

Chinese leader Jiang Zemin (term: 1993-2003) was aghast when his North Korean counterpart Kim Jong-il told him, “I have to inspect northeastern China.” Jiang said the word “inspect” (shicha) means making a checkup of one's own country. Since you're visiting another country, you're paying a “visit” (fangwen) to that region.” Kim nonchalantly responded: "My father said northeastern China is ours."

Lee Seong-hyon | 2018-09-04 17:33

Can Seoul deal with NK nuke issue without China?

By Lee Seong-hyon On May 31, when the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Hua Chunying was asked about China's stance on the so-called “trilateral declaration” to formally end the Korean War, she replied: “As a major party to the Korean Peninsula issue and a signatory to the Armistice Agreement of the Korean War, China will continue to play its due part.” An editorial in China's Global Times on May 29 was less roundabout of its displeasure. It characterized the idea of “trilateral” declaration as “extremely ridiculous” (youqi kexiao...

Lee Seong-hyon | 2018-08-21 17:09

Falling in love with Kim one last time

A nuclear love affair is no different from a human love affair. As the initial infatuation fizzles out, so is the psychological “high” that drives the courtship forward to the next level. It seems that's where Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un are stuck now. Doubts about denuclearization have begun to permeate the public sphere.

Lee Seong-hyon | 2018-08-07 17:24

Tipping point for Trump's patience

There is a view that President Donald Trump is getting impatient with the slow progress in North Korean nuclear negotiations. With that, a question arises as to how long can Trump accommodate Kim Jong-un if the current stalemate persists. He is already under a heavy domestic backlash for holding a summit with Kim in Singapore that was widely viewed as symbolically important yet lacking in substance in denuclearization.

Lee Seong-hyon | 2018-07-24 17:17

China's reputation cost on NK

China should be more ambitious on North Korea. Attempting to “stall” (as alleged by American observers) the U.S. negotiation process with Pyongyang is shortsighted. Being seen as a “disruptor” of the peace process on the Korean Peninsula would exact a heavy reputational cost on China's international image. Instead, it should take a strategy that is more long-term oriented and monumental. “North Korea” may be an opportunity for China to demonstrate its newly-shaping leadership and garner global respect as an alternative power to the United States.

Lee Seong-hyon | 2018-07-11 17:35

After 3 Xi-Kim summits

Xi Jinping has met with Kim Jong-un three times in the mere span of three months, from March to June. It's like Xi has been scoring a summit with Kim every month. Compared to Xi, President Moon Jae-in scored two, and U.S. President Donald Trump one. With that, China is smug with the feeling that it “outstripped” all the other major geopolitical stakeholders in shaping the North Korean affair. It also effectively makes defunct the so-called "China passing" _ the idea that China might be sidelined.

Lee Seong-hyon | 2018-06-26 16:42

Can Trump 'pass up' Xi to work with Kim?

This week marks 25 years since former U.S. President Jimmy Carter negotiated a deal with North Korea in which Pyongyang committed to freezing its burgeoning nuclear weapons program and engage in high-level negotiations with Washington. The deal didn't last because then North Korean leader Kim Il-sung met an abrupt death only a month later.

Lee Seong-hyon | 2018-06-12 16:31

Why Moon Jae-in should go to Singapore

It's paramount that President Moon Jae-in go to Singapore where the historic summit between Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un will be held, not for the symbolism of a person who mediated their meeting, but to troubleshoot a communication gap between the couple; one is from Mars the other from Venus.

Lee Seong-hyon | 2018-05-29 16:56

True motivation for Kim's denuclearization

The world hasn't resolved the conundrum of why Kim Jong-un came out from his cave to declare a willingness for denuclearization after menacingly developing and improving his country's nuclear capability for years after he took power in late 2011.

Lee Seong-hyon | 2018-05-15 16:57

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Inter-Korean Summit in Pyongyang