Japanese Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara was forced to resign on March 6 following the disclosure that he had received donations from a foreigner, a violation of Japanese election law. He admitted that he had received approximately $3,000 over a six-year period. Maehara’s resignation was surprising not only for its abruptness …
Bravo Zulu is navy parlance for “job well done.” South Korea’s naval commandos certainly earned that accolade by successfully rescuing all 21 hostages held aboard a South Korean freighter. On January 15, pirates armed with automatic rifles, heavy machine guns, and rocket-propelled grenades seized the Samho Jewelry ship 800 miles …
Pyongyang revealed a covert facility for enriching uranium to a visiting U.S. scientist last week. Dr. Siegfried Hecker, former head of the Los Alamos nuclear laboratory, stated he was shown a vast plant containing “hundreds and hundreds” of centrifuges—North Korea claimed 2,000—controlled by an “ultra modern control room.” The discovery …
Even the most ardent Obama supporter should be embarrassed by the collapse of bilateral trade talks with South Korea. President Obama had correctly hailed the South Korea-U.S. free trade agreement (KORUS FTA) as critically important for the United States. The U.S. International Trade Commission estimated the agreement would increase U.S. …
After its Coast Guard arrested the captain of a Chinese fishing trawler in waters claimed by Tokyo, Japan surprised the world by showing uncharacteristic steadfastness in standing up to Chinese pressure. Indeed, despite increasingly bellicose Chinese rhetoric and threats, Tokyo valiantly stood its ground. And the fact that the left-of-center …
On September 13, 2010, South Korea released an extensive report detailing North Korea’s responsibility for an unprovoked attack on the South Korean naval vessel Cheonan. The 313-page report provides overwhelming, irrefutable evidence that Pyongyang deliberately sank the Cheonan with a torpedo launched from a submarine. Although North Korea’s motives for …
North Korea has responded to planned U.S.-South Korean military exercises by threatening a “retaliatory sacred war” with a “powerful nuclear deterrence.” Pyongyang’s belligerent propaganda is intended to show that the regime is not intimidated by the large-scale allied naval and air exercises scheduled to take place next week near the …
This week, the U.S. and South Korea have initiated extensive joint military exercises and senior-level security meetings to project an image of strong solidarity, resolve, and deterrence to North Korea. Under normal circumstances, these actions would have accomplished their purpose. Although the robust naval exercises display formidable military capabilities, they …
