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Thu, October 18, 2018 | 11:36

Opinion > Columnists > Tong Kim >

To prevent nuclear war

As Seoul and Washington stopped talking about dialogue with Pyongyang, some security experts are talking about the worst-case scenario: a nuclear war that could breakout on the Korean peninsula. North Korea continues advancing its nuclear and missile programs, while some call for Seoul’s own nuclear armament. Discussions of a nuclear war are taking place at a time when the Obama administration is distracted from its foreign policy in an election year, and the Park government is crippled by a defeat in recent parliamentary elections. Both administrations are resorting to the dubious efficacy ...

Tong Kim | 2016-06-19 16:05

Pyongyang between China, US

As tensions continue on the Korean peninsula, and while there is no prospect of a breakthrough to the worsening confrontation between Seoul and Pyongyang, the whole issue of North Korea - including its nuclear and missile programs - is getting out of control for South Korea, becoming an issue of strategic competition between Beijing and Washington.

Tong Kim | 2016-06-05 16:27

What to do after party congress

A couple of points of observation ought to be made from the 7th Workers Party Congress that was recently held in Pyongyang. First, the denuclearization of North Korea will not be achieved by negotiation. Second, the young and relatively inexperienced Kim Jong-un has firmly consolidated power, and his regime is not likely to collapse in a foreseeable future.

Tong Kim | 2016-05-22 16:50

Trump on South Korea

As Donald Trump became the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, his foreign policy statements - including those on U.S. alliances with South Korea and Japan - that he made during his campaign are now under close scrutiny.

Tong Kim | 2016-05-08 17:05

For stability and peace

With the outcome of the National Assembly elections on April 13, which handed a major victory to the opposition parties over the Saenuri Party of President Park Geun-hye, there appears to be a better chance for defusing tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

Tong Kim | 2016-04-24 16:55

North Korean factor in elections

On April 13, South Korea will elect 300 representatives to a new National Assembly amid concerns of a worsening relationship with the North and the woes of a stagnant economy. The general election will be carried out in a three-way race between the ruling Saenuri Party, the major opposition Minjoo Party of Korea (MPK) and the newly created Party of the People, a splinter opposition party.

Tong Kim | 2016-03-27 16:48

Only way out is talks with N. Korea

Washington - The only possible way out of the current deadlock with North Korea is to negotiate and see if the North is prepared to suspend arming in return for satisfying some of its security concerns, a well-known American expert said.

Tong Kim | 2016-03-17 14:26

If the current escalation of tension continues, and if mutual hostility continues to mount on the Korean Peninsula, one should be legitimately concerned of the possibility of a costly confrontation between them, limited or all out. With all lines of communication cut off and the abrogation of all economic agreements between the North and South, Korea once again is in a crisis of war, perhaps the most dangerous one so far.

Tong Kim | 2016-03-13 16:25

Korea: back to fate of shrimp

Last week’s agreement between the U.S. and China to push for “a stronger U.N. Security Council resolution that goes beyond previous resolutions” to sanction North Korea for its nuclear and missile programs brings back to Koreans the memory of an adage that compares their country to the fate of “a shrimp that gets hurt in a fight of whales.”

Tong Kim | 2016-02-28 16:18

Korean situation getting worse

Pressure on North Korea has been mounting since its defiant nuclear test on Jan. 6, followed by a satellite launch last week, which is regarded by the West as a missile development test. While the UN Security Council has yet to adopt an additional resolution to sanction the North Korean provocations, a series of significant actions have been taken by Seoul and Washington.

Tong Kim | 2016-02-14 16:35

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