The steps North Korea vowed to take to denuclearize after this week’s summit with the South are moving in the right direction, but leave much to be desired.　South Korea’s efforts to improve inter-Korean relations are moving too fast, regardless.　It is somewhat meaningful for North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to have mentioned “the Korean Peninsula without nuclear weapons and nuclear threats” in a public place with his own voice. It is the first time that a member of the Kim family, which has ruled

President Moon Jae-in returns home Thursday from a three-day visit to Pyongyang, the highlight of which were his discussions with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un about denuclearization and improved inter-Korean relations. Overall, the trip appears to have been a success. One successful element was that Moon drew Kim into agreement to take additional denuclearization steps, which could help revive the stalled talks between the US and the North. Trump made a positive response to the agreement in a

As the trade war between the US and China drags on with new tariffs and no end in sight, we need to ask ourselves: What do they want? A fundamental objective for both is to become less reliant on the other. The trade war should thus be reframed as a conscious uncoupling.　Behind the rhetoric from both sides lies a profound distrust. US suspicion stems from two specific issues. China is increasingly seen as a national security threat that fails to play by the rules. The Trump administration’s stan

The United Nations Security Council discussed the implementation and enforcement of UN sanctions on North Korea in a special session the day before President Moon Jae-in arrived in Pyongyang on Tuesday for his summit with Kim Jong-un.The US had called the session in response to what it says are efforts by “some members” to “undermine and obstruct” sanctions against the North.　An interim report, prepared by an independent UN panel that monitors sanctions compliance, was submitted to the UNSC last

The Donald Trump administration’s decision to close the Palestine Liberation Organization’s office in Washington last week is the latest in a series of punitive actions it has taken against the Palestinians. The purpose is clear: to force the PLO and its ailing octogenarian leader, Mahmoud Abbas, to restart peace talks with Israel and, ultimately, to accept the administration’s long-awaited peace plan. This strategy of coercion and collective punishment is bound to fail.　In a recent pre-Rosh Has

President Moon Jae-in leaves for Pyongyang on Tuesday for talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. It is Moon’s first visit to the North Korean capital, but it is not evoking as much excitement as previous visits by former South Korean leaders Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moon-hyun. It is partly because two of his predecessors, including his former boss Roh, have already made precedents and partly because he has already met Kim twice at the truce village of Panmunjom. But perhaps a bigger reason for

The world is watching as Russia and the Syrian regime prepare to unleash the biggest bloodbath yet in the Syrian saga of horrors. Yet no one seems to know how to prevent a massive attack on Idlib, the last Syrian rebel-held stronghold, where nearly a million civilians are trapped.　UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres just warned that a full-scale Russian assault on Idlib “would unleash a humanitarian nightmare unlike any seen in the blood-soaked Syrian conflict.” Moscow rebuffed the pleas of Gu

It is untimely for heads of the nation’s global business groups to accompany President Moon Jae-in to Pyongyang for his summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.Cheong Wa Dae reportedly asked leaders of the top four conglomerates to go along with Moon. Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, Hyundai Motor Group Vice Chairman Kim Yong-hwan and LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo will join him on his trip. His entourage will also include Hyundai Group Chairwom