Wall Street Journal (June 28)
“The free world got a boost Tuesday as American, Japanese and South Korean forces completed their first trilateral missile-defense drill in waters off Hawaii. Deepening such cooperation is vital for defending America and its partners against North Korea’s nuclear capabilities, and for putting China and Russia on notice that the U.S. won’t be muscled out of Asia.”
Tags: China, Cooperation, Hawaii, Japan South Korea, North Korea, Russia, Trilateral missile-defense drill, U.S.
Wall Street Journal (June 5)
For North Korea’s “Kim Jong Un and the Chinese banks that sustain his regime, life is suddenly more complicated.” The U.S. designated “the entire country a ‘primary money-laundering concern.’ This is the biggest gun in the arsenal of financial sanctions. If enforced, it will make banks world-wide choose between doing business with North Korea and maintaining access to U.S. dollars.” Welcoming the more stringent designation, the Wall Street Journal writes, “It’s about time.”
Tags: Banks, China, Financial sanctions, Kim Jong Un, Money laundering, North Korea, U.S.
The Economist (May 28)
“A nuclear nightmare” is in the making. “It is past time for the world to get serious about North Korea’s nuclear ambitions…. So clear and present is the danger that even rivals who clash elsewhere in Asia must urgently find new ways to work together.”
Tags: Ambitions, Nightmare, North Korea, Nuclear, Serious
Financial Times (March 8)
“The tough UN sanctions to be imposed on North Korea, the result of an accord reached by the US and China, go well beyond previous efforts. Yet if the goal is to change Pyongyang’s behaviour, they will not be enough.”
Wall Street Journal (February 16)
“North Korea’s recent nuclear and missile tests are driving some welcome changes in South Korean strategy.” Namely, Seoul will install a U.S. built missile defense system and close the Kaesong industrial zone. Ending the denial that allowed the Sunshine policy to limp along is essential. “Burying the Sunshine Policy requires a willingness to confront Pyongyang’s horrors—and removing its nuclear threat requires burying the Sunshine Policy.”
Tags: Defense system, Denial, Kaesong, Missile test, North Korea, Nuclear, Pyongyang, South Korea, Sunshine policy, U.S.
New York Times (February 14)
A full disarmament, of North Korea “is unrealistic at this point. To have any chance of success, the negotiations should aim for constraint. That means persuading the North to end all testing and to forsake technology transfers to other parties. This is a formidable challenge, but neglecting it only guarantees that the threat will get worse.”
Popular Mechanics (February 1)
“As both the capital of Japan and home to a quarter of its citizens, Tokyo is very much a big, fat target” for North Korea. Mainly done to reassure people living in Tokyo, “the deployment of the eight PAC-3 missiles does give real protection in case Pyongyang has something unexpected in mind.” While any launch would probably just be a missile test, “North Korea’s erratic nature means Japan can never quite rule anything out.”
Tags: Capital, Deployment, Erratic, Japan, Missiles, North Korea, PAC-3, Protection, Pyongyang, Target, Tokyo
Wall Street Journal (September 15)
“Put yourself in Kim Jong Un’s Gucci loafers. Your economy is in worse shape than usual, you’re unsure of your grip on power, and you’ve recently executed your fourth defense minister in three years. What’s a young dictator to do?” With the restart of his nuclear reactor, Kim Jong Un may be “angling for his own version of Iran’s nuclear deal,” especially since he knows that once an agreement is reached, “he can then violate it at will without paying too steep a price.”
Tags: Agreement, Dictator, Economy, Iran, Kim Jong Un, North Korea, Nuclear reactor, Violate
New York Times (August 22)
“Given North Korea’s nuclear weapons arsenal and its erratic leader, Kim Jong-un, any such confrontation must be taken seriously and managed carefully, with the United States and China playing key roles in urging restraint…. As satisfying as it may be to push back against Mr. Kim’s provocations, any reaction by South Korea and the United States must be carefully weighed, with an emphasis on restraint.”
Tags: China, Confrontation, Kim Jong Un, North Korea, Nuclear weapons, Restraint, U.S.
New York Times (May 19)
“With North Korea in possession of nuclear weapons and a well-oiled machinery of oppression, a regime collapse may not happen soon. But the Kims will surely fall at some point, quickly and brutally, and when they do South Korea and its allies must stand ready to rescue a nation that has suffered horribly. In the meantime, the United States and America’s allies must remain vigilant and continue to search for ways to deter Mr. Kim.”
Tags: Allies, Collapse, Kim, North Korea, Nuclear weapons, Oppression, Regime, South Korea, U.S., Vigilant
