Speaking at a Brookings Institution panel discussion in Washington, DC on Friday (March 2nd), ex-nuclear envoy Dr. Robert Gallucci startled audiences with the admission that he believes use of force may be the only method to ensure Iran’s nuclear program is irrevocably halted. “I have no confidence that any degree of sanctions will actually stop […]
Director of National Intelligence chief James Clapper testified today in front of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, on intelligence community conclusions contained in the DNI’s annual Worldwide Threat Assessment. In unclassified testimony, Clapper stated that Iran is “keeping open the option to develop nuclear weapons, in part by developing various nuclear capabilities that better […]
Borderline: North Korea from Emphas.is on Vimeo. Tomas Van Houtryve, an award-winning documentary photographer, is creating a book of photographs made in the shadow of North Korea. Van Houtryve’s book, due out this year, has been a long-term, painstaking project. Writes philosopher Tzvetan Todorov in the book’s foreword: Over the course of seven years, award-winning […]
The stockings were hung, the FPA bloggers had written their last posts with care and just settled down for a long winters nap (by DC standards). When out on the 38th parallel there arose such a clatter and what to our wondering eyes appear? North Korea’s little old driver, who was so lively and quick, […]
Co-Authored with William Sweet U.S.-Russia 123 and New START A relatively busy year in arms control and nonproliferation started out with two events that were set into motion the year prior: entry into force for the U.S. Russian Agreement for Civilian Nuclear Cooperation (the so-called 123 agreement) and the bilateral New START agreement. The congressional […]
Two weeks ago the European Union announced that it intends to provide $14.5 million in emergency food aid to North Korea. According to the statement released by the EU, after visiting North Korea in June, monitors judged the situation to be: “Increasingly desperate and extreme measures are being taken by the hard-hit North Koreans, including […]
The fact that government outrage continues to provide the international media with grist for its insatiable mill is one of the great ironies in this scenario: perturbed at the site’s revelation of embarrassing diplomatic discussions and fumblings–tales only mildly interesting to the average reader–government officials are now in the process of creating a better, and far more spectacular story over First Amendment rights and the ‘treasonable’ activities of a Dutch citizen accused of committing “sex by surprise” (in Sweden?).
Even worse, the official call from some quarters for draconian regulation of the internet has given Russia (which suggests nominating Assange for the Nobel Peace Prize) and China, a human-rights violator of mammoth proportion, opportunities to ‘prove’ to an already hostile world that when Washington suddenly finds itself looking out through wall-to-wall glass, this nation of stone-throwers is no better than anyplace else.
Yeonpyeong Island After North Korean Attack Previously, this blog has examined the complex dysfunctional relationship , known as Sino-North Korean relations. Here is a quick recap: China is the top investor and subsidizer of North Korea, but the relationship is indirectly reciprocal. The Kim family mafia, rulers of North Korea, with Kim Jong Il as […]
PART II North Korea will never honestly negotiate a dismantling of its nuclear weapons; this is the only trump card that has ensured cash flow into the regime. In essence, N. Korea is black mailing the region (and the U.S.). This behavior is not surprising, as the North is a “mafia state” lead […]
Fidel Castro returns to Cuban TV (NPR) After so very few public appearances since intestinal surgery in 2006, this was news indeed. Fidel Castro appeared on Mesa Redonda, a prominent talk show on Cuban television, to discuss world events. His comments included an accusation that the United States was the culprit in the sinking of […]
Cambodia – My colleague, Sean Patrick Murphy, over at FB’s Global Film Review blog, has an interesting post about a new documentary, “S21, The Khmer Rogue Killing Machine”. The documentary interviews former Khmer Rogue members who worked at the infamous S21 prison camp, where various crimes against humanity were committed during the reign of Pol […]
This is an update to an earlier blog post concerning the Burmese Junta’s nuclear ambitions and the aid it might be receiving from North Korea. Last year, the Japan Times ran an article on this topic, now Al-Jazeera has aired an investigative report. In the strategic footsteps of North Korea, Myanmar’s leaders are also building […]
SIPRI’s report in March 2010 highlighted China’s growing desire to develop its Arctic capabilities. Yet China is also collaborating with other countries to possibly expand its role in the Arctic. Two of those countries are North Korea and Iceland, neither of which have Arctic coastlines, but which are far enough north to give China greater […]
Jessica D’Itri I am reading The Cleanest Race: How North Koreans See Themselves and Why it Matters by B.R. Myers, an associate professor at Dongseo University in Busan, South Korea. The book purports to explain the national myth that informs the worldviews of North Koreans. The author refutes the standard trope that North Korea is […]
North Koreans are increasingly defying their government to tap into foreign radio broadcasts, according to Peter Beck of the Wall Street Journal. In his recent article, Beck highlighted the high barriers that North Korean civilians face to receive information from foreign sources. All radios sold in North Korea have their dials permanently fixed to the […]