North and South Korea
Naval clash between two Koreas as Obama heads to Asia
By John Chan, November 12, 2009
Just days before US President Barack Obama commences his first major visit to Asia, a brief exchange of fire took place between South and North Korean naval vessels.
Former South Korean President Kim Dae-jung dies
By John Chan, September 3, 2009
Behind the rhetoric about “democracy” and “peace”, Kim represented the interests of sections of the Korean bourgeoisie who had been marginalised under the US-backed military dictatorship.
Bill Clinton’s visit to North Korea: a tactical shift in US foreign policy
By John Chan, August 6, 2009
Former US President Bill Clinton arrived in North Korea Tuesday to broker the release of two detained American journalists. Described by the Obama administration as a private mission, the visit signal...
US warship shadows North Korean cargo vessel
By John Chan, June 27, 2009
While the Obama administration has hailed the “unity” of the UN Security Council in imposing new sanctions on North Korea, tensions between the US and China remain, especially over the interdictio...
North Korean nuclear crisis enters a new stage
By John Chan, June 19, 2009
A UN Security Council resolution last Friday imposing harsher sanctions on North Korea and the subsequent threats by Pyongyang, indicate the prolonged crisis on the Korean Peninsula has entered a more...
US issues threat to North Korea
By Peter Symonds, June 2, 2009
US Defence Secretary Robert Gates told a regional security conference in Singapore that the US would not “stand idly by as North Korea builds its capability to wreak destruction on any target in Asi...
North Korea threatens new nuclear tests
By John Chan, May 7, 2009
Tensions in North East Asia rose again last week after North Korea threatened to carry out further nuclear weapon and ballistic missile tests.
UN Security Council convened over North Korean missile test
By Patrick Martin, April 6, 2009
The United Nations Security Council held an emergency meeting Sunday in response to the test launching of a long-range missile by North Korea earlier in the day.
Impending North Korean missile test raises regional tensions
By John Chan and Peter Symonds, April 3, 2009
North Korean plans to fire a long-range Taepodong-2 rocket are heightening tensions in North East Asia. While Pyongyang claims to be launching a satellite, the US and Japan insist it is carrying out a...
North Asian summit: an empty show of unity
December 13, 2008
The leaders of China, Japan and South Korea will meet today for their first-ever joint summit. While the meeting is billed as a show of Asian unity in the face of the deepening global economic crisis,...
South Korean economy heading toward negative growth in 2009
By John Chan, December 12, 2008
There are growing signs that the world’s 13th largest economy, the Republic of Korea, is among the most vulnerable to the global financial crisis. The latest forecasts point to an economic contracti...
Bush administration belatedly takes North Korea off terrorism list
By Peter Symonds, October 15, 2008
The Bush administration’s decision last Saturday to remove North Korea from the US State Department’s list of state sponsors of terrorism has prevented a breakdown of the six-party agreement on de...
