US President Trump declared in his UN General Assembly speech on Sept. 19 that Kim Jong-un was a “Rocket Man on a suicidal mission for himself” and the US would totally destroy North Korea if the North attacked. Kim Jong-un personally responded by declaring that “I will surely and definitely tame the mentally deranged US dotard with fire.” Trump also made a famous statement that “they will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen” on Aug. 8 in connection with the report that North

Viewpoints Oct. 12, 2017

Samuel Huntington’s seminal work “Clash of Civilizations” has awaked the world leadership to the new threat to world peace in the post-Cold War period. His study concentrated on the clashes between major civilizations. But the real world is suffering from racial, ethnic and religious sectarian conflicts rather than the conflict of civilizations.During the Cold War, political ideology was the main cause of world conflict, although ethnic conflicts in newly independent countries began to surface.

Viewpoints Sept. 17, 2017

Since North Korea conducted another intercontinental ballistic missile test on July 28, the US has become more confrontational rather than conciliatory toward North Korea. US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley declared at the UN Security Council that the “time for dialogue is over.” The Trump administration has adopted the maximum pressure and engagement policy, abandoning Obama’s strategic patience policy. It has first concentrated on a confrontational approach, resorting to mainly three paths: s

Viewpoints Aug. 20, 2017

When a peaceful transition of power from the Park Geun-hye government to the Moon Jae-In government was successfully completed, following Park’s impeachment and the presidential election within a short period without any violent confrontation between the pro-Park conservative forces and the anti-Park liberal forces, the world, particularly the Western democratic world, was quite impressed. This was mainly because a divided and newly independent non-Western state had not only successfully overcom

Viewpoints July 17, 2017

North Korea and Syria are two powder kegs in the world at the moment. By comparing these two states we may be able to find solutions to the two crises.The North Korean crisis is directly related to the division of Korea into two separated states by the Allied Powers in World War II in 1945, whereas the Syrian crisis was touched off by a domestic democratic movement influenced by the Arab Spring in 2011. The main cause of the North Korean crisis is the North Korean regime’s complete distrust and

Viewpoints June 18, 2017

On April 27, President Donald Trump said that South Korea should pay for the cost of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense anti-missile system and that he intends to renegotiate or terminate the US-South Korea free trade agreement. A few days later he said that he would be honored to meet Kim Jong-un, praising him as a man who is quite smart. Trump may continue to demand that South Korea share more burden militarily and economically. His North Korea policy may also confuse all parties directly

Viewpoints May 11, 2017