Nuclear holocaust is the least likely outcome of North Korea’s latest leap forward in offensive capabilities. And if it were it to occur, it would probably be the result of shoot-from-the-lip bluster from US President Donald Trump rather than a calculated US or North Korean strategy. Our biggest worry isn’t the future toll of a dubious war, but the toll bad leadership is already taking on our standing in the world.South Korean President Moon Jae-in indirectly captured this point when, in respons

Given the frequent prevalence of horrifying gun incidents in the United States, I am often asked to explain American gun culture. Especially here in East Asia, the idea that people in an advanced country like the US would be willing to live with the daily risk of being shot is hard for many to understand. So let me try to explain.The first thing to understand is the law. In the US, the constitution contains a specific provision called the Second Amendment that refers to the rights of citizens to

With the current administration, there seems to be a new burning question nearly every week. Some linger and others are beyond answering except when they do so themselves. One of these obviously is how to deal with North Korea’s pursuit of atomic weapons parity with other nuclear powers, with a White House itself seemingly in personnel chaos amid increasing reports of changes in top level staff that deal with such questions.If the reports are correct, the crucial foreign policy team would shift

Over the last year, Cambodia’s ruling party, the Cambodian People’s Party, has dramatically increased its pressure on its political opponents and civil society. Democracy in Cambodia has always been fraught, and elections are not completely free and fair. But the current crackdown is much greater in scope, and far more concerning, in part because it is being enabled by American apathy.Prime Minister Hun Sen, East Asia’s longest-serving nonroyal ruler, has used his power to silence critics and cl

There are many laws that do not fit the reality. Education is no exception, with the controversial act on the normalization of public education and regulation of prior learning being a good example. The act, which took effect in 2014 mainly to curb private tutoring that imposes heavy study burdens on students and financial burdens on parents, came into the spotlight recently due to its ban on some after-school English classes.English education in elementary school now begins in third-grade and p

Now that the Senate has joined the House of Representatives in passing versions of a bill to cut taxes -- with the support of virtually all Republicans and no Democrats -- there’s little doubt that the Republican majority will work out a measure they can support in both chambers and send it to President Donald Trump to be signed into law.But the first big win for Republicans in Washington is a loss for the rest of the US. Yes, there may be plenty of Americans who will see their tax bills go down

These are difficult times for Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. Not only must he contend with a new spate of reports that his fickle, mercurial boss in the Oval Office is thinking of dumping him, he is being accused -- credibly -- by former State Department officials and members of the US Congress of gutting the department and demoralizing the diplomatic corps.On Tuesday, Tillerson denied that there had been a “hollowing out” of the agency and accused critics of throwing around “false” numbers a