Opinion - The Korea Times

Facing up to cyber-espionage

By Donald KirkWASHINGTON – Once upon a time, in an era that’s faded into the near-forgotten history of The Cold War, Moscow was the enemy, and those who believed otherwise were labeled “comsymps” for Communist sympathizers. The phenomenon of “the Red scare,” meaning the fears inflicted by the specter of  “commies” taking over the world, bedeviled liberals and leftists from Berkeley, Cal., to Cambridge, Mass. Accused of paying homage to Josef Stalin and his successors while undermining democracy as preached and practiced in the U.S., many of them had to defend themselves in congressional hearings and even court cases.Oh, how times have changed. Nowadays the most famous proponents of Moscow are the president-elect, Donald Trump, and his incoming secretary of state, Rex Tillerson. These two gentlemen rank among the most visible exponents of global capitalism on earth, and they are bosom buddies of the dictatorial leader of modern Russia, Vladimir Putin, a man who once served the KGB in the days before the downfall of communism. Are Tr

Jan 12, 2017By Donald Kirk

Donald Kirk

Facing off against China and Russia

By Donald KirkWASHINGTON ― President-elect Donald Trump will be flexing America’s muscles against both China and North Korea from almost the moment he sits down in the Oval Office of the White House, at least to judge from his recent tweets.“China has been taking out massive amounts of money & wealth from the U.S. in totally one-sided trade but won’t help with North Korea,” he said in one infamous tweet. “Nice,” he added in sardonic understatement.Then, after Kim Jong-un in his New Year’s address hinted at the imminent launch of an inter-continental missile, Trump fired off another highly quotable tweet. “North Korea just stated that it is in the final stages of developing a nuclear weapon capable of reaching parts of the U.S.,” he observed. “It won't happen!” Is Trump saying the North does not have the technology to fix a warhead to the tip of a long-range missile ― or that he as president might order a strike on the launch facility before it’s fired?Either way, these tweets are reminders of anothe

Jan 5, 2017By Donald Kirk

China admits to retaliation against THAAD deployment

Donald Kirk

Trump foreign policy paradox

By Donald KirkWASHINGTON – The U.S. refusal to veto the UN Security Council resolution attacking Israeli settlements in Palestinian territory as “a flagrant violation” of international law has triggered cries of outrage worthy of full-scale hostilities.You might think, from the responses of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, that President Barack Obama had announced the U.S. had allied with the Palestinians in a declaration of war. In fact, the resolution is non-binding, and the U.S. remains Israel’s staunchest ally. Washington now provides $3.1 billion in aid for Israel every year and will soon be pumping in $3.8. billion annually under an agreement signed three months ago – stupendous figures for a country of 8.2 million people.So really, nothing is changing, and Israel has nothing to worry about as far as U.S. support is concerned. Moreover, President-elect Donald Trump has signaled his dedication to Israel’s survival – and expansionism –  by promising after he takes office in three weeks to do whatever he can

Dec 29, 2016By Donald Kirk

Donald Kirk

Duterte's loudmouthing

By Donald KirkThe president of the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte, is riding a populist wave with his declarations that he doesn’t need American military or commercial aid or agreements for U.S. forces to advise and assist the armed forces of the Philippines. He seems to want to reverse careful efforts on both sides at improving ties since the Philippine Senate in 1991 refused to renew the lease on huge U.S. air and naval bases.Duterte’s insults against the U.S. resonate beyond the Philippines. Japanese and Korean leftists often demand withdrawal of American troops. Citizens on Japan’s southernmost island prefecture of Okinawa have been calling for years for the U.S. to give up its vital air and marine bases while battling construction of a marine air station on the northeast coast. In Korea, leftists have fought against construction of a naval base on the southern side of Jeju, claiming the U.S. envisions it for U.S. warships. They want the U.S. to pull out most of its troops while a “progressive” takes over the presidency after the next election ― whethe

Dec 22, 2016By Donald Kirk

Donald Kirk

Menace of political violence

By Donald KirkThe populist revolt against President Park Geun-hye has grave implications for governance amid economic unease and high youth unemployment. In this uncertain transition period, Korea’s relationship with the United States is sure to undergo strains if not change while foes of her conservative pro-American policies line up in search of negotiations with North Korea after years of rising tensions.In the cacophony of voices, the pressure exerted by the parliament of the streets that brought about Park’s impeachment, pending approval by two-thirds of a Constitutional Court of nine judges, has exemplified democracy in action. The protest has been all the more remarkable in a system that’s been showing signs of reversion to dictatorship as epitomized under her long-ruling father, Park Chung-hee, assassinated by his intelligence chief in 1979.The gulf between South Korean conservatives and liberals is likely to deepen while the former defend the style of leadership in place for nearly nine years since the end of a decade of liberal rule. The conservatives Lee

Dec 15, 2016By Donald Kirk

Donald Kirk

Preserving the alliance

The many thousands of protesters who’ve been marching toward the walls of the restored palace of Korea’s dynastic kings toward the Blue House of latter-day presidents have been ignoring a likely target. That’s the American embassy, looming large, brightly lit and carefully protected by hundreds of policemen and dozens of police buses.So far, while demonstrators hold aloft signs and banners calling for President Park’s ouster and then her trial on corruption charges, none have been shouting for U.S. forces to “get out of Korea” or accusing the U.S. of being a “co-conspirator” in her alleged crimes. Cries of “Yankee Go Home” are not heard over the mega-loudspeakers on that enormous stage behind the golden statue of good King Sejong in the middle of the wide avenue in front of the embassy.That’s fortunate since the protesters could easily direct their wrath against the U.S. considering how warm and friendly the bonds have been between the U.S. and Park. Nobody seems to remember, but it was only three years and seven

Dec 8, 2016By Donald Kirk

Donald Kirk

Regime change by impeachment

By Donald KirkEnough, enough, we want no preachment - It’s time to vote on his impeachment! That rhyme from a Broadway classic, “Of Thee I sing,” words by Ira Gershwin, music by his brother George, comes to mind as talk of impeachment ricochets around Seoul – and Washington too.Credit the Gershwin brothers with having injected humor into politics – a topic that’s boring almost by definition. Generally, few of us follow the ins and outs of factional infighting, charges and countercharges, trials and punishments. Or, if we breeze through the headlines and a few paragraphs, we soon forget them before turning the pages or scrolling down for juicier tidbits, like murders, scandals and sports.That’s by way of saying that suddenly politics is of more than passing interest in both the capitals where I hang out. Okay, comparisons never quite work, but surely the “I word” – I for impeachment, that is – has long since gained common currency in Seoul and Washington. Politicos and their journalistic sybarites and satellites ar

Dec 1, 2016By Donald Kirk

Donald Kirk

Media mix facts with views

By Donald KirkHow did the American media get it so wrong? Why were the U.S. papers, TV networks and polls so off in their near-unanimous forecasts that Hillary Clinton would win ― some believed by carrying almost every state? Those are questions about the latest U.S. presidential election that media people and just about everyone else will be debating forever.First, let’s be realistic. The media and polls did not get it all wrong. After all the ballots were counted, Clinton came out way ahead ― 64.4 million for her versus 62.3 million for Trump. Under the peculiar American system, however, Trump won the presidential election by carrying swing states that Democrats had almost assumed they would win ― Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania, the heart of the “rust belt” devastated by factory shutdowns.By now everybody knows why these states counted for so much ― the election is decided by an Electoral College. The number of electoral votes for each state is computed by adding up its members in the House of Representatives, that is the lower house of the Congress, a

Nov 29, 2016By Donald Kirk

Donald Kirk

Trump's plunge into Asia

By Donald KirkThe process of “making America great again” is filled with perils and pitfalls, nowhere more so than in Asia. The intricacies and subtleties of the Great Game for Asia often are about as incomprehensible to the experts as they are to amateurs and know-nothings. As President-elect Donald Trump and his team plunge into the Game, can or will they do away with decades of efforts at “understanding” by U.S. diplomats and intelligence analysts?Trump has said he’s firmly committed to the defense of America’s friends and allies but equally committed to dumping the Trans-Pacific Partnership that President Obama made a pillar in his Asian “pivot.” TPP would have placed the U.S. at the forefront of a dozen countries banded together in the quest for the vast potential of the Asian market.  U.S. leadership of the TPP would have given the U.S. a certain leverage while China also competes with its own trading arrangements.Without TPP, Trump may prefer to strengthen the U.S. military commitment to a vast region in which the U.S. and C

Nov 24, 2016By Donald Kirk

Donald Kirk

Protest in Seoul and US

By Donald KirkToo bad President-elect Donald Trump’s phone call to President Park Geun-hye the day after his victory may be his only chance to talk with her. Even if she’s still in Cheong Wa Dae when he moves into the White House, she’ll be in no position to display her leadership at summit conferences.Sadly, Trump’s first meeting with the leader of a foreign country was his conversation Thursday in New York with Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Ordinarily Koreans might respond with nationalist sensitivity to the incoming U.S. president meeting the Japanese leader before their own leader, but everyone knows these are not ordinary days.Korea now is essentially leaderless — without even a symbolic head of state, a king or queen before whom to pay obeisance. Park might now aspire to the ceremonial role of figurehead while a prime minister tends to tawdry everyday affairs, but she may be denied even that luxury.Is South Korea about to succumb to the demands of the parliament of the streets? How long can Park’s presidency survive the outcri

Nov 17, 2016By Donald Kirk

Donald Kirk

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Facing up to cyber-espionage

Facing off against China and Russia

Trump foreign policy paradox

Duterte's loudmouthing

Menace of political violence

Preserving the alliance

Regime change by impeachment

Media mix facts with views

Trump's plunge into Asia

Protest in Seoul and US

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