Water has now become a most sought after commodity, one that countries have displayed a renewed interest in and with an increasing amount of threat-of-force.
Hun Joon Kim’s analysis represents a welcome and well-written, but ultimately very partial, view of the search for ‘comprehensive truth’ in South Korea.
“Trust” has been the buzzword for President Park Geun-hye, and 2013 saw ‘trustpolitik’ in action in South Korea’s relationships with North Korea, China and Japan.
Ignoring North Korea is the worst sleight of all. It reminds the elites what they know, and hate – that no one takes them seriously. North Korea is another ‘Upper Volta with nuclear weapons,’ and we should treat it as such.
The hostile posturing of the North Korean leadership is decipherable if located within the context of its symbiotic national security and economic development goals.
Looking at interpretations of current events through an IR theory lens, it is astonishing at how often claims have been made that war is likely, and that we have no way of understanding what North Korea might do.
Most pundits have determined that Kim Jong Un has consolidated power and is now about to, irrationally, strike out against South Korea and her allies. But, what if this assumption is an error?
The roots of the South China Sea disputes originate in the results of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. Coming to terms with China as it exerts its power will be pricey, yet necessary.
The North Korean ‘Dear Leader’ Kim Jong-il unexpectedly passed away on 17th December. Now, Kim Jong-un comes under the political spotlight. The new North Korean leader is in his late 20s and has been so unknown to the outside world that a torrent of predictions on the future of North Korea is being suggested.
Although this book appeared before the November 2010 bombing of Yeonpyeong island by North Korean forces, its insights and are no less relevant to the question of reversing a dangerous trend of military provocations, brinkmanship and near-war collisions between the Koreas. As Dr. Clemens forcefully argues, a long-lasting, peaceful solution to the inter-Korean division is neither impossible, nor idealistic.
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