In an April 27 interview, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson made plain that a denuclearized Korean Peninsula was the Trump administration’s only goal. Tillerson also clarified that Trump isn’t interested in human rights, nor the anguished yearning of millions of Koreans for a reunified Peninsula.　 He declared, “We have been very clear as to what our objectives are. And equally clear what our objectives are not. And we do not seek regime change, we do not seek a collapse of the regime, we do no

The irony was too rich.　President Trump meets with the Russian foreign minister the day after he fires the man who’s heading the investigation into his campaign’s possible collusion with Russia on election meddling.　You needn’t be clairvoyant to imagine what Sergei Lavrov must be thinking: “The Kremlin doesn’t need to waste time trying to undermine Americans’ faith in their institutions. Trump is doing that fine on his own.”　Trump’s decision to ax FBI Director James Comey will fray Americans’ fa

Americans have a long and ignoble tradition of telling jokes about the French. Old chestnuts such as “I’m selling a French rifle: Never shot, dropped only once” became popular again in 2003 when the French -- wisely as it turns out -- refused to join their US allies in the invasion of Iraq. The House of Representatives cafeteria even renamed french fries as “freedom fries.”　Turns out the joke’s on us.　The American electorate in November chose as our president an international laughingstock who i

As they’ve guided China’s remarkable economic ascent over the last four decades, the country’s leaders have largely been content to focus on raising incomes and building factories. They’ve steered clear of messy international entanglements that could undermine economic progress, and with it the public support that keeps them in power.Over the past decade, of course, a richer, more confident China has attempted to assert greater global influence. President Xi Jinping has boldly presented himself

Last month, Chinese President Xi Jinping directed his government to build a new city for the “millennium to come.” It would rise on rural land about 60 miles south of Beijing, guided by the principles of “ecological protection and green development.” And it would become a model for a new kind of urban expansion.It was an attractive vision. Over the next few weeks, however, reports emerged of vast pollution in and around Xiongan, the area Xi hopes to develop. That’s no surprise: China’s four-deca