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Sat, October 21, 2017 | 13:54

Opinion > Columnists > Donald Kirk >

Advice from deceased leaders

Credit someone in North Korea with a sense of historical irony. Who would have thought anyone up there would have dreamed of writing an imaginary letter from Abraham Lincoln to President Obama berating him for endorsing harsh UN sanctions and failing to halt the U.S. nuclear weapons program?

Donald Kirk | 2016-04-14 16:59

State of terrorism

WASHINGTON - Here’s a question people here keep asking: Is North Korea a terrorist state? Forget about the missile shots. They’ve all landed in the sea and harmed no one. What about the nuclear tests? They dislocated some rocks deep underground but were otherwise harmless. So what does it take to persuade the U.S. State Department to list North Korea, again, as a “state sponsor of terrorism”?

Donald Kirk | 2016-04-07 16:31

New York Times vs. Trump

WASHINGTON - Talk about local boy making good, and then look at the case of Donald Trump. He's a New Yorker through and through - looks, talks and acts like one, arrogant, sneering and sure of himself. So what are the New York papers saying about him? Clearly, he’s a bad boy who’s sadly disgraced himself.

Donald Kirk | 2016-03-31 16:25

Cuba, North Korea and US

WASHINGTON - The hype surrounding President Obama's visit to Cuba quickly gave way to fear and loathing as the world absorbed the news of the slaughter perpetrated in Brussels, for which ISIS, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, immediately claimed “credit.”

Donald Kirk | 2016-03-24 16:57

S. Korea moving to establish diplomatic ties with Cuba

Korea: US election non-issue

LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas - North Korea's top gun will have to try harder if he expects his threats of another nuclear test will win serious consideration in a U.S. presidential election year. Driving through the American heartland, you hear hardly a thing about the latest threats from Pyongyang.

Donald Kirk | 2016-03-17 16:58

Waging war of words

Ho hum, here we go again. That seems to be the response to the latest rhetorical blasts from Pyongyang as U.S. and South Korean forces dive into their annual war games. A “preemptive nuclear strike”? Destruction of “bases of aggression”? Incineration of Seoul in “a sea of fire and ashes.” When and where have we heard all that stuff before? Oh yes, wasn't it last year during these same annual military exercises? And the year before? And maybe quite a few other times?

Donald Kirk | 2016-03-10 17:19

Spying on the line

They used to say the walls have ears. That was in a bygone era when eavesdroppers strained through ceilings and doors, peepholes and cracks to catch the incriminating words of enemy agents, political foes and adulterous spouses. Plenty of old-time movies revolve around scenes such as these.

Donald Kirk | 2016-03-03 16:40

Dialoguing for peace

Listen to people talking about the panacea of “dialogue” and “a peace treaty” with North Korea. They make it seem so simple. We need to talk, they say. We'll never come to terms with North Korea if we don't talk.

Donald Kirk | 2016-02-25 16:02

Myanmar versus North Korea

Comparisons between North Korea and Myanmar over the years have suggested that the two nations share some of the same problems. However, even in the worst periods of military dictatorship, Myanmar never bore any similarity to North Korea. The contrast extends from urban market places to fields and forests to inner sanctums of power.

Donald Kirk | 2016-02-18 17:03

Raising the risks of war

North Korean rocket launches and nuclear tests risk getting boring. The pattern is familiar: expressions of outrage, loud condemnation - then nothing. Has the latest one-two punch of nuclear test and rocket launch changed a thing? The easy answer is not really - but think again. The lines of confrontation are deepening.

Donald Kirk | 2016-02-11 17:00

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Lunch with Navy sailors