[Trudy Rubin] Trump bluster at UN won’t stop Iran or North Korea

President Donald Trump could have used his maiden speech at the United Nations on Tuesday to reassure allies he was capable of providing global leadership against 21st century threats.Instead, he delivered a bombastic stump speech about guarding American sovereignty that was more suited to his faithful than to world leaders. He peppered his mainly isolationist remarks with a dash of religious sermonizing -- to please evangelicals? -- and several nods to traditional Republican rhetoric and even r

Sept. 24, 2017

[Stephen L. Carter] More rules for launching nukes won’t make US safer

“We have taken every step man can devise,” said President Lyndon Johnson in 1964, “to insure that neither a madman nor a malfunction could trigger nuclear war.” Apparently lots of people are starting to doubt that this is true. The latest entrant is an op-ed article this week in the New York Times. The authors, Jeffrey Bader and Jonathan D. Pollack, call for legislation requiring that “a small group of officials” give unanimous consent before the president can use nuclear weapons, at least if th

Sept. 24, 2017

[David Ignatius] US must think outside the box on NK

The Trump administration often talks about North Korea policy as if it’s an on-off switch. President Trump thundered Tuesday that the US will “totally destroy” North Korea to defend itself and its allies. But Defense Secretary James Mattis blandly insisted the next day that it’s “still a diplomatically led effort.”Somewhere in this maze of public statements-including Thursday’s announcement of new economic sanctions on North Korea -- there’s a nuanced American policy. But the seeming binary opti

Sept. 22, 2017

[David Ignatius] Trump’s welcome flirtation with the UN

When you discount the rhetorical overkill, the most surprising thing about Donald Trump’s address to the United Nations Tuesday was how conventional it was. He supported human rights and democracy; he opposed rogue regimes; he espoused a global community of strong, sovereign nations. Pretty shocking stuff.Because he’s Trump, the zingers got the headlines: He repeated his childish, snarky (but sort of funny) playground denunciation of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. “Rocket Man is on a suicide m

Sept. 21, 2017

[James Stavridis] Naval blockade is best option to cut off North Korea

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is fixated on obtaining a serious nuclear arsenal, and continues to thumb his nose at the US and other world powers. The latest round of United Nations Security Council sanctions approved on Sept. 11 are not going to change that. But one aspect of them -- new measures to interdict ships breaking trade embargoes against Pyongyang -- could be baby steps toward much stronger sanctions enforcement.The new resolution gives the US and other countries the power to inspec

Sept. 21, 2017

[Andrew Sheng] Living at edge of chaos

This month, two Category 4 hurricanes hit the United States within 17 days of each other. In Asia, North Korea is threatening nuclear Armageddon, and floods and famine are putting thousands of lives at risk from Bangladesh to Yemen. How can one survive in this chaotic era?A first step must be to make sense of the apparent chaos. Hurricanes Harvey and Irma have proved that climate change is not fake science, but a real threat to home and security. When hailstones the size of golf balls hit Istanb

Sept. 20, 2017

[Kim Kyung-ho] Way out of THAAD reprisals

Trade officials here were perplexed last week by a presidential spokesperson’s remarks dashing the possibility of South Korea taking China to the World Trade Organization for Beijing’s retaliation against Seoul’s hosting of an advanced US missile defense system.The spokesman told a press briefing that South Korea would seek to strengthen strategic communication and cooperation with China to resolve “difficult issues” between the two sides. He said it was important to maintain cooperation with Ch

Sept. 20, 2017

[Letter to the editor] Community participation key to water hygiene campaign

Weekday mornings in Siem Reap see an exodus of working adults and children set against the idyllic backdrop of rural Cambodia. Many people labor in the fields, as their families have for generations. Amid the peaceful clamor of this weekday morning hubbub, a number of children cycle or ride tuk-tuks to schools, which are part of an effort by the Cambodian government to expand infrastructure and education in rural regions. I was excited to open my eyes to the opportunity to see the state of water

Sept. 20, 2017

[Lee Jae-min] Digital freedom and digital servitude

The beauty of this glass rectangle is its ability to connect us to anyone, anywhere and anytime. It has freed us from the physical confinement of geographical space. The problem with this shining gadget is also its ubiquitous connectivity: it has freed others as well to reach us anytime and anywhere. The past 10 years of the smartphone, its cousin tablet and second cousin wrist band have brought about revolutionary changes in our lives. The connectivity has made virtually everything available at

Sept. 19, 2017

[Kim Seong-kon] Vanishing Korean Diaspora and their writings

Last week, I attended the third International Congress of Writers Writing in Korea held at Gyeongju under the auspices of the international P.E.N. Korea Centre. The conference, which brought together 50 writers from all over the world, including both Korean-heritage and non-heritage writers, turned out to be a huge success. At the meeting I met professor Kim Jong-hoe who is an expert on Korean Diaspora. Professor Kim has been traveling to many countries on behalf of Kyung Hee University to award

Sept. 19, 2017