The relationship between Tokyo and Seoul is in the news again ― and for all the wrong reasons. Last week, in an apparent sign of bilateral warming, a report from Korea’s Yonhap News Agency indicated that Japan and Korea were on the cusp of formalizing a longstanding commitment to share intelligence and security information on North Korea’s WMD programs. The story claimed that government sources in Seoul were prepared to sign off on a General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) wi

Viewpoints July 16, 2012

The Yeosu Expo opened almost two months ago. The number of visitors so far is 2.8 million, or 52,000 per day on average. The turnout is much lower than hoped. It falls far short of the 8 million targeted by the Yeosu Expo Organizing Committee.The committee is doubling efforts to attract visitors during the one month left before the finale. It says visitors will enjoy more diverse and interesting programs during this period. For example, the Expo Pop Festival takes place at 8 o’clock every night,

Viewpoints July 15, 2012

North Korea’s brushes with Disney tend to be less than magical. The Kim Dynasty’s first foray to the place where dreams come true ended in a nightmare. In 2001, the brother of leader Kim Jong-un tried to enter Japan to visit Tokyo Disneyland. His Dominican Republic passport and lack of Spanish skills piqued the interest of customs officers, and was an endless source of embarrassment for their Dear Leader father, Kim Jong-il, who died in December. Eleven years after his brother’s attempted visit

Viewpoints July 15, 2012

Testifying before a Senate committee a few months ago, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton lamented that America was “in an information war, and we are losing that war.” This week, she blew a fuse at the “Friends of Syria” meeting in Paris, saying that Russia and China should “pay a price” for not supporting regime change in Syria.Here’s a thought: How about using the power of truth to get things done rather than cover and manipulation?Russia and China aren’t following America’s script for o

Viewpoints July 13, 2012

In the first of what is likely to be a series of confrontations between Egypt’s new elected leader and the country’s armed forces, President Mohamed Morsi has called for a parliament disbanded by the generals to return to work, pending the election of a new representative body under a yet-to-be-written constitution. As with much about Egypt’s transition from autocracy to democracy, the controversy over the legitimacy of the People’s Assembly is overlaid with legal issues. The Islamist-dominated

Viewpoints July 12, 2012

There is little doubt that plutocrats are trying to buy the November elections. Not just control of the White House, but control of the U.S. House and Senate, too.Freed from campaign finance limitations by five pliant Supreme Court justices, wealthy donors with no sense of shame are pouring record amounts of money into so-called super political action committees. Donors to super PACs eventually will see their names made public; being shameless, they don’t care.But what about plutocrats who have

Viewpoints July 12, 2012

Park Geun-hye, the presidential frontrunner of the ruling Saenuri Party, has officially announced her bid to become the nation’s first woman president. She pledged to democratize the economy, create jobs and expand welfare to make Korea a country where everybody can achieve their dreams.Park’s announcement signaled the beginning of the race for the next presidency. Ten or so candidates from the ruling and opposition parties have already joined the contest, with a couple more expected to particip

Editorial July 11, 2012

In recent months, job creation has been brisk. According to employment data, Korean employers added 472,000 new jobs to the economy in May, not a small number in light of the global economic downturn and the subsequent stagnation of Korea’s export sector.Yet one problem is that a large proportion of the new jobs were created by micro-businesses with less than five employees. According to Statistics Korea, the number of people working at such tiny businesses increased 286,000 in May compared to a

Editorial July 11, 2012