On paper, the United States is committed to withdrawing its last 2,500 troops from Afghanistan less than 10 weeks from now, on May 1. That’s under a deal the Trump administration made last year with the Taliban, the Islamic guerrilla group fighting the Kabul government. But it’s far from certain that will happen. Neither the Taliban, the Afghan government nor the United States have kept all their commitments under the year-old agreement. The Taliban promised to reduce attacks on gov

South Korea’s patent protection agency is seeking to sharpen the nation’s industrial edge by overhauling intellectual property policies amid the rapid digital transformation brought on by the COVID-19 era. Artificial intelligence and data have emerged as essential means of generating intellectual property, but uncertainties surrounding related laws and a lack of institutional support are hindering the use of such technologies. The acceleration of the transition to a digital econo

The amazing golf career of Tiger Woods, from two-year-old prodigy to his epic comeback 2019 Masters victory, was in jeopardy Tuesday after injuries suffered in a serious solo car crash, the AFP reported. The 45-year-old American, among the world's most famous athletes for the past quarter-century, underwent surgery for multiple leg injuries following the early morning wreck near Los Angeles, according to the report. It could mean the end of a groundbreaking career that has seen Woods win 15

People say that there are two contrasting types of personalities in the world. One is the Hamlet personality type and the other resembles Don Quixote. The Hamlet type is the one who is lost in thought and discreet, and thus gives in to vacillation. The Don Quixote type is foolhardy and indiscreet, and thus brash and unbridled. Both have upsides and downsides, depending on the situation. Indeed, there are times when you should be discreet like Hamlet and there are times when you should act audaci

Earlier this month President Joe Biden went to the State Department to pump up a demoralized foreign service corps, and to tell the world, “America is back. Diplomacy is back at the center of our foreign policy.” That pledge was echoed Tuesday by Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who told NPR, “We’ve reengaged with allies and partners around the world. I think I’ve made myself maybe 50 calls already.” So there’s no doubt the Biden approach is diametri

Professor Tsche Kwang-jun of Kyung Hee University Law School has been elected to head the Korean Association for Property Law, the university said Tuesday. In addition to the new post, Tsche heads Kyung Hee University Law School’s Legal Research Institute and the Institute for International Affairs. He also serves on a Fair Trade Commission committee and on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. “(I) will research with the association focusing on issues regarding property laws in

When the European Union’s foreign ministers convene on Feb. 22, they will have to confront the political fallout from the ill-fated visit to Moscow by Josep Borrell, the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. One hopes that the reckoning catalyzes much-needed progress toward developing a coherent European Russia policy. The timing of Borrell’s visit to Moscow -- the first by an EU official since 2017 – was odd, to say the least. In the weeks be

Nord Stream 2, the almost-finished pipeline running directly from Russia to Germany, is not really about securing cheap natural gas. It is about personal gain and these two countries’ national interest. The pipeline across the Baltic has pitted the United States and the European Union against Germany, and a swelling chorus of domestic critics against Chancellor Angela Merkel. If it were just a matter of gas molecules, the project might never have seen the light of day. So, why did it? Go

When governments interfere in markets, the result is often questionable. This happened in Korea in the late 1990s when a decision in favor of “Korea Inc.” was driven, instead of allowing foreign original equipment manufacturers to come to Korea. The industry is still suffering from this decision, now culminating in the third insolvency of SsangYong Motor since 1997. The suppliers again will have to pay the bill. Even though the Korean government is offering generous loan propos

Last September, five international labor auditing firms declared they could no longer help companies audit their supply chains in China’s Xinjiang region because the Chinese government’s controls and repression made it too difficult to determine whether factories are using forced labor. The Better Cotton Initiative, a consortium to monitor sustainability -- affiliated with companies such as Adidas, Nike and Gap -- called Xinjiang an “untenable operating environment.” Thi

When Joe Biden launched his campaign for the presidency in 2019, his economic proposals were relatively modest updates of the middle-class-oriented agenda he championed as vice president under Barack Obama. “It doesn’t require some fundamental shift,” he said, pushing against the sweeping proposals of rivals like Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. Then came the pandemic. Today, Biden’s economic message, retooled to address current needs, has real urgency. “We c