Time (October 3)
Kids don’t study enough is the common complaint. South Korea faces a different problem: Children are studying too hard. Government officials have started patrols to “find children who are studying after 10 p.m. And stop them.” The officials hope “to reduce the country’s addiction to private, after-hours tutoring academies (called hagwons).” South Korea hopes to curb excesses “to reduce student stress and reward softer qualities like creativity.”
Tags: Creativity, Government, South Korea, Studying
Los Angeles Times (June 26)
When North Korea opened fire sixty-one years ago, a war began that claimed 33,000 U.S. soldiers, 100,000 Chinese and 2 million Koreans. Today, relations remain in disarray. 2010 marked the deadliest year since the armistice. Six-party talks have little chance of restarting after the North’s recent fatal attacks on a South Korean submarine and villagers on Yeonpyeong Island. Senator John Kerry writes, “The U.S. response to all of this has been measured but firm. It has also been inadequate.” The Senator believes the U.S. needs to unilaterally “engage North Korea directly,” even if this is on a limited basis. The process will be slow, but it needs to begin.
Tags: North Korea, Six-party talks, South Korea, U.S.
Washington Post (June 6)
Japan is not the only place where lawmakers find agreement elusive. In the U.S. “partisan deadlock over trade policy continues. If anything, it’s getting worse.” The current stumbling blocks are trade pacts with South Korea, Colombia and Panama. “What’s especially maddening about all of this is that most Republicans and Democrats claim to agree on the benefits of the trade pacts,” yet there’s no clear sign that the parties will find common ground to break the impasse. “Determining the merits of this increasingly self-referential quarrel between the two parties would take 100 marriage counselors 100 years.”
Tags: Colombia, Democrats, Panama, Republicans, South Korea, Trade pacts, U.S.
Time (August 13)
Was the sinking of the Cheonan staged by South Korea? Opposition politicians have speculated that the Cheonan simply ran ashore or hit an old mine. Then the government planted evidence to make the sinking look like a North Korean torpedo attack. This would have boosted the ruling party’s popularity in an upcoming election. Time, however, has seen the still secret government report and finds it convincing. The report addresses the likelihood of other scenarios (nil) and makes a conclusive case that nothing other than a torpedo could have been the cause. To silence the conspiracy claims, the government of President Lee Myung Bak now promises to release the full report to the public.
Tags: Cheonan, North Korea, South Korea
Time—Asian Edition (June 7)
Despite the tragic sinking of the Cheonan, “the resumption of hostilities is too terrible to contemplate.” The South can only posture and resort to diplomacy and sanctions. “The simple fact is that while the North’s ground forces are no match for those of South Korea or the U.S., Pyongyang has an armory of long-range missiles and artillery that could easily target the South’s largest population centers to cataclysmic effect.”
Tags: Cheonan, North Korea, South Korea
Wall Street Journal (June 3)
An opinion piece declares the sinking of the South Korean naval warship Cheonan qualifies as a war crime and should be prosecuted. “Kim may have exposed himself for the first time to international justice” and deserves to be tried by the International Criminal Court. In 1953, North Korea signed an armistice promising to cease hostilities with South Korea. Since the North did not first warn the South that it would break the peace agreement, the deadly torpedo strike against the Cheonan qualifies as treacherous act meeting the war crime definition.
Tags: Cheonan, Kim Jong Il, North Korea, South Korea, War Crime
Wall Street Journal (May 22)
The U.S. and other allies have worked to engage Kim Jong II, “albeit with decent intervals between his serial outrages.” The unprovoked sinking of the South Korean warship reveals “how little interest Kim has in any kind of peace.” Going forward, the allies should recognize that North Korea will cheat on any agreement. Instead of negotiating and engaging, North Korea should be cut off, isolated and officially recognized as a state sponsor of terrorism. This rogue state status should not change until the regime collapses. “North Korea won’t change until Kim dies or his regime falls. The goal of the West should be to increase pressure on the North toward the latter goal.”
The U.S. and other allies have worked to engage Kim Jong II, “albeit with decent intervals between his serial outrages.” The unprovoked sinking of the South Korean warship reveals “how little interest Kim has in any kind of peace.” Going forward, the allies should recognize that North Korea will cheat on any agreement. Instead of negotiating and engaging, North Korea should be cut off, isolated and officially recognized as a state sponsor of terrorism. This rogue state status should not change until the regime collapses. “North Korea won’t change until Kim dies or his regime falls. The goal of the West should be to increase pressure on the North toward the latter goal.”
Tags: Kim Jong II, North Korea, South Korea, U.S.
The Times (May 21)
North Korea is “evil.” The Times condemns the “gangster regime” for sinking the South Korean navy ship, the Cheonan, and the deaths of 46 sailors. “The unprovoked firing of a torpedo in South Korean waters was an act of aggression that fits a pattern of state terrorism and fanatical xenophobia.” The Times calls for “strong, wide and unified” international condemnation. Moreover, there should be no negotiating with North Korea as “the violence and duplicity of the North Korean regime are notorious,” making negotiation “worse than useless.”
North Korea is “evil.” The Times condemns the “gangster regime” for sinking the South Korean navy ship, the Cheonan, and the deaths of 46 sailors. “The unprovoked firing of a torpedo in South Korean waters was an act of aggression that fits a pattern of state terrorism and fanatical xenophobia.” The Times calls for “strong, wide and unified” international condemnation. Moreover, there should be no negotiating with North Korea as “the violence and duplicity of the North Korean regime are notorious,” making negotiation “worse than useless.”
Tags: Cheonan, North Korea, South Korea
Forbes (May 17) Forbes (May 17)
The sinking of South Korea’s Cheonan naval vessel killing 46 sailors was “the entirely predictable outcome of an abrupt shift in North-South relations.” Since election, South Korean President Lee has reversed agreements reached by his predecessor Roh Moo-hyun and North Korean leader Kim Jong II. A cycle of claims and counterclaims ensued, with each country blaming the other for violating its maritime zone. On November 10, Kim Jong-II visited a naval base and called for heroes “for do-or-die squads at sea.” The editorial suggests that “the only way to fix things is to try negotiating.” Threats and punishments are unlikely to work. North Korea will simply take bigger risks.
The sinking of South Korea’s Cheonan naval vessel killing 46 sailors was “the entirely predictable outcome of an abrupt shift in North-South relations.” Since election, South Korean President Lee has reversed agreements reached by his predecessor Roh Moo-hyun and North Korean leader Kim Jong II. A cycle of claims and counterclaims ensued, with each country blaming the other for violating its maritime zone. On November 10, Kim Jong-II visited a naval base and called for heroes “for do-or-die squads at sea.” The editorial suggests that “the only way to fix things is to try negotiating.” Threats and punishments are unlikely to work. North Korea will simply take bigger risks.
Tags: Cheonan, Kim Jong Il, North Korea, South Korea
Wall Street Journal (May 10)
Both the U.S. and South Korea “responded prudently and calmly” in the wake of the March sinking of a South Korean ship, which killed 46 sailors. With the investigation uncovering evidence of North Korean wrongdoing, a firm response is in order. A military strike is too risky, but the two countries can hold more vigorous joint military exercises, delay transfer of an operational command from the U.S. to South Korea, and pull out of the Six Party Talks. In addition, Seoul should suspend all economic cooperation and the U.N. Security Council should pass a resolution condemning North Korea. “Now is the time to demonstrate the strength of joint resolve, not weakness.”
Both the U.S. and South Korea “responded prudently and calmly” in the wake of the March sinking of a South Korean ship, which killed 46 sailors. With the investigation uncovering evidence of North Korean wrongdoing, a firm response is in order. A military strike is too risky, but the two countries can hold more vigorous joint military exercises, delay transfer of an operational command from the U.S. to South Korea, and pull out of the Six Party Talks. In addition, Seoul should suspend all economic cooperation and the U.N. Security Council should pass a resolution condemning North Korea. “Now is the time to demonstrate the strength of joint resolve, not weakness.”
Tags: North Korea, Security Council, South Korea, U.N., U.S.
