North and South Korea
Typhoon compounds North Korean food shortages
By Amanda Hitchcock, August 21, 1999
The typhoon that struck the Korean peninsula earlier this month has compounded chronic food shortages in North Korea, which has been afflicted by widespread famine over the last five years. The rain b...
Arrest of workers continues as
South Korean president releases rival's wealthy son
By Terry Cook, August 19, 1999
Despite widespread public opposition, South Korea's President Kim Dae Jung used his presidential powers last weekend to pardon Kim Hyun Chul, the convicted son of the country's former president Kim Yo...
US, Japan exert sharp pressure on North Korea over possible missile test
By Peter Symonds, August 11, 1999
Sharp pressures are being exerted on North Korea by the US, Japan and South Korea to abandon any plans for a test firing of its long-range Taepodong II missile. Even though such a missile launch breac...
South Korea's economic recovery—a recovery for whom?
By Terry Cook, July 17, 1999
According to recent reports, South Korea's economy is on the road to recovery. The Bank of Korea issued a statement last week predicting 6.8 percent economic growth with one percent inflation this yea...
Officials arrested for shoddy construction
Youth centre fire in South Korea claims 23 lives
By Terry Cook, July 6, 1999
Six local council officials have been taken into police custody in the wake of the fire in South Korea that tore through the Sealand Youth Training Centre last Wednesday. The police have also arrested...
G-8 powers warn North Korea over missile tests
By Peter Symonds, June 26, 1999
The Group of Eight (G-8) major powers turned up the pressure on North Korea last Sunday with a sharp warning in their final communiqué that they were “deeply concerned” over the country's...
Rising tensions on the Korean peninsula:
South Korea sinks North Korean torpedo boat
By Peter Symonds, June 17, 1999
Tensions between the two Koreas rose on Tuesday after South Korean naval vessels sank a North Korean torpedo boat and badly damaged several other ships during a clash in disputed waters to the west of...
Visit by US envoy intensifies pressure on North Korea
By Peter Symonds, June 10, 1999
US presidential envoy William Perry last month headed the highest-level US delegation to North Korea since the end of the Korean War in 1953. Despite the reportedly cordial nature of the talks, hailed...
Interview with a WSWS reader
Joblessness and poverty in South Korea
June 1, 1999
The following is an interview with a World Socialist Web Site reader, who lives in South Korea, describing the impact of the Asian economic crisis on the living standards of working people. The reader...
South Korea:
Government intensifies arrests as union calls off strikes
By Terry Cook, May 26, 1999
The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), South Korea's second largest peak union body, called an abrupt end to its "May offensive" last week after the government of Kim Dae Jung made an offer ...
Correspondence on the South Korean strikes
May 18, 1999
To the Editor,
South Korea's "second wave" of strikes winds down
By Terry Cook and Peter Symonds, May 15, 1999
A “second wave” of industrial action in South Korea, called by the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) against widespread economic restructuring and job losses, is on the brink of ...
