Here’s the most intriguing fact about Iran’s apparent seizure Saturday of a small oil tanker about 385 kilometers northwest of here: Thus far, it has brought only a muted response from the United Arab Emirates, in whose waters the vessel had been operating, and from the United States, which is quietly organizing a multinational effort to protect shipping in the Persian Gulf. If this were a boxing match, you’d say that the United States is trying to let Iran punch itself out. Th

South Korea currently ranks 12th in terms of economic power of nations. It ranks a little higher in international researchers’ comparison of military strength. The oft-quoted Global Fire Power website listed the Republic of Korea as seventh in the world in its 2019 report. Based on a total of 55 metrics -- including weapons diversity, total population, military manpower and financial capabilities -- the GFP index covering 137 countries put South Korea below the US, Russia, China, India, Fr

As he has so many times since bursting onto the presidential stage in 2015, Donald Trump played the race card Sunday. He launched nearly three dozen broadsides on Twitter throughout the day, but a trio of his tweets stood out because they demonstrated how casually he likes to uncork his venom and how unwilling the Republican Party is to contain him.Trump was targeting four new Democratic congresswomen of color (nicknamed the “Squad”) who have become ubiquitous advocates for progressi

South Korea and Japan are at it again. On July 1, the Japanese government decided to restrict exports to South Korea of three products used in semiconductor and smartphone manufacturing. It argued that the products could be used for making weapons if they fell into North Korean hands. The action caused an uproar in South Korea, and people accused Japan of using the issue to weaken the Korean economy. Neither country appears willing to negotiate a solution to address complaints on both sides.Rela

Watching Korea helplessly caught in the vortex of international crises and domestic turbulence these days, one cannot but ponder how Korea can survive in these difficult times. Of course, it will not be easy to overcome the hardship, and yet we should try hard to survive and even thrive, turning the crisis into an opportunity. What, then, should we do? First, we should promote and maintain good relationships with neighboring countries and allies, especially with Japan and the United States. This

To outsiders, it may seem like the deepening rift between Japan and South Korea has blown up out of a clear blue sky.For all the wrangling over the legacy of Japan’s 35-year colonization of the Korean Peninsula, which ended in 1945, there’s far more on paper to join than to separate them. Both are Northeast Asian democracies that have close military and economic ties to the US; potent exports of electronics, cars and cultural products; and a love of seafood and beef.After decades whe

Over the past couple of weeks, there have been increasing signs that the Trump administration -- and particularly the president himself -- is moderating its position on North Korea’s stockpile of nuclear weapons. Gone are the adamant statements that the US will only accept complete, immediate and irreversible denuclearization. Instead, we’ve seen a symbolic but historic meeting between Trump and Kim Jong-un at the Demilitarized Zone, more flattering rhetoric about the North Korean di

If the truth can set you free, then the British ambassador to Washington is now free as a bird. Unfortunately for him, he will no longer be soaring over America’s capital or hovering anywhere near the White House. In fact, the president made sure this British goose got cooked.Discretion is a key component of diplomacy, and Ambassador Kim Darroch was publicly discreet to a fault. But his private, privileged and personal observations -- reserved for his ministry and his masters -- now seem i

The agonizing fact for Democrats this summer is that US President Donald Trump appears to be gaining ground on domestic and foreign policy, while his potential challengers are quarreling and mostly spinning their wheels. Trump is taunting allies and defying Congress -- and seemingly getting away with it. He isn’t just rewriting the political rulebook, he’s tossing it aside. And the painful fact is that the Democrats haven’t figured out a way to stop his forward momentum, even t

The unprecedentedly large number of candidates -- 25 at last count -- for the Democratic nomination to take on US President Donald Trump in 2020 has led to an awkward opening to the contest. The number of contenders will drop as the qualifications for participating in party debates tighten (especially in September) and some run out of money. Some know they have no real chance at winning, but hope that becoming better known might land them a cabinet post, more lucrative book deals, or larger spea

Democratic candidates for president should get smart about America’s confrontation with Iran: Rather than seek only to restore the 2015 nuclear deal, they should also endorse a broader, new negotiation that addresses Iran’s meddling in the region and removes sanctions against Tehran.The goal should be “JCPOA 2.0, Plus,” argues Karim Sadjadpour, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. That’s a reference to the acronym for the 2015 accord, k

Argentina’s foreign minister fought back tears. President Maurico Macri called it “the most important agreement ever signed in our history.” Latin America’s biggest economy would soon be “reborn,” predicted a top aide to Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who likewise heralded the “great day.”The June 28 deal between the European Union and Mercosur was a breakthrough. Who knew that even as China and the US played chicken with international trade,

Why did the policy response to the Great Recession only partly reflect the lessons learned from the Great Depression? Until recently, the smart money was on the answers given by the Financial Times commentator Martin Wolf and my Berkeley colleague Barry Eichengreen. Each has argued that while enough was remembered to prevent the 1929-size shock of 2008 from producing another Great Depression, many lessons were plowed under by a rightward ideological shift in the years following the crisis. Since

Should police be permitted to terminate a criminal investigation on their own? This question is at the core of a long-standing debate between the prosecution and police over the adjustment of investigative power. There are many other issues, but this one has become very symbolic. The prosecution opposes it, while the police treat it as the lynchpin of the whole debate. National Assembly deliberation this fall will finalize the adjustment. As expected, it was also a hot topic at the confirmation