Tag: South Korea

The Geopolitical Influences on Upcoming South Korean Election

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In this segment of By Any means Necessary, Sean Blackmon and Jacqueline Luqman are joined by Gregory Elich to discuss the upcoming general elections in South Korea and the geopolitical contours that affect the race and US involvement in the peninsula, how South Korea’s proximity to North Korea and China impacts the stakes of the election and US interest in the eventual winner, and current president Moon Jae-In’s myopic focus on a peace declaration that would have little effect on the potential for peace on the Korean peninsula.

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Reminding South Korea Who is Boss: Biden’s Enforcers Pay a Visit

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In a Washington Post opinion piece, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spelled out their objectives in visiting Japan, South Korea, and India. “The United States is now making a big push to revitalize our ties with friends and partners,” they wrote. The nature of those relationships, as perceived by Washington, is the subordination of Asian nations as junior partners in an anti-China coalition. “Our alliances are what our military calls ‘force multipliers’,” Blinken and Austin explain. “Our combined power makes us stronger when we must push back against China’s aggression and threats.” [1]

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Is There Any Hope for Revival of U.S.-North Korea Negotiations?

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Interview with Gregory Elich

Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun arrived in Seoul, South Korea yesterday for talks on stalled nuclear diplomacy hours after North Korea said it had “no intention of sitting face to face with the United States.” President Trump had said earlier in the day that he was willing to have yet another summit with the North Korean leader. But Biegun reiterated the U.S. position that North Korea must give up all of its nuclear weapons, something North Korea has always maintained it would not do unilaterally without concurrent sanctions relief.

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The U.S. Tightens its Grip on South Korea to Strengthen its Anti-China Alliance

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Back in August, South Korea’s 90-day notice that it would withdraw from the General Security of Military Intelligence Agreement (GSOMIA) set off alarm bells in Washington. The agreement provided the means for South Korea and Japan to directly share military intelligence on North Korea.

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Towards Ending the 65 Years of Armistice: Understanding the process for peace in Korea

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Korean-Armistice-News

July 27, 2018 marks the 65th anniversary of the Armistice Agreement which brought about a ceasefire to the Korean War. The agreement was signed by North Korean General Nam Il representing both the Korean People’s Army (KPA) as well as the Chinese People’s Volunteer Army (PVA) and U.S. Army Lieutenant General Harrison, Jr. representing the United Nations Command (UNC).

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DPRK Suspends South Korea Meeting After US Drills

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Gregory Elich interviewed by Eugene Puryear and Sean Blackmon

North Korea suspends its meeting with South Korea following provocations from U.S./South Korean military drills, Washington’s inability to compromise with Pyongyang and the effect this may have on the Korean unification process

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A Strong Antidote to Western Propaganda on Korea

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Patriots, Traitors and Empires: The Story of Korea’s Struggle for Freedom, by Stephen Gowans. Montreal: Baraka Books, 2018. Paper, $24.95, pp 270

The release of Stephen Gowans’s superb new book could not be better timed. With the Korean Peninsula on the potential brink of major change, looking to Western mainstream media for reasoned analysis is a fool’s errand. Gowans provides a valuable service in filling that gap by situating Korea in its historical context, while making no compromise with received opinion or resorting to lazy formulations.

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North and South Korea Historic Meeting: The Politics Behind the Summit

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Interview with Tim Beal and Gregory Elich

In one of the most important diplomatic breakthroughs in a generation, the leaders of North and South Korea met and pledged to denuclearize the peninsula and to formally end the Korean War. Even the most optimistic observers were surprised at the scope of the meeting, which took place on the South Korean side of the border at Panmunjom. President Trump later issued a statement saying that he was looking forward to meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in the coming weeks or months.

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Koreans Talk Peace?

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CT3

The games have begun. The younger sister of North Korea’s ruler Kim Jong-un has captured the attention of the media, while US Vice President Mike Pence was mocked as a dud, even undiplomatic. The two Koreas are engaging each other. This makes the Washington foreign policy swamp fume.

Interview with Brian Becker, Myung-Koo Kang, and Gregory Elich

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As Inter-Korean Relations Warm, Will the U.S. and Japan Play Spoilers?

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Gregory Elich interviewed by Eugene Puryear and Sean Blackmon

The ongoing diplomatic efforts between North and South Korea against the backdrop of the 2018 Winter Olympics; if Japan and the US will play spoilers in Korean reunification efforts; Mike Pence’s undiplomatic efforts at the Olympic opening ceremony; and the history of politics at the Olympics.

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