In The News

The Korea Times: Trump Warns of “Fire and Fury”; North Korea Threatens to Strike Guam

Jun Ji-hye August 10, 2017
The leaders of North Korea and the United States are exchanging threats, and the rest of the world hopes the war of words does not escalate into what is being called “preventive war” or preemptive strikes. “Preventive strikes are carried out to remove the enemy's strategic facilities in advance to prevent an attack,” explains Jun Ji-hye for the Korea Times. “This is a different concept from...

The New York Times: North Korea Threatens Retaliation Over Sanctions, Hints at Possible Attack

Rick Gladstone August 7, 2017
The United Nations Security Council approved sanctions drafted by the United States and China against North Korea that could reduce the nation’s $3 billion in exports by $1 billion. “The resolution was a direct response to North Korea’s successful tests last month of two intercontinental ballistic missiles that for the first time demonstrated an ability to reach the United States mainland,”...

Washington Post: South Korea Wants More Firepower

Anna Fifield July 31, 2017
South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in, campaigning for office, had favored diplomacy over military force in handling the impoverished nation to the north. Two intercontinental ballistic missile tests by North Korea during July have forced Moon to shift his stance. “If the ICBM had been launched on a normal trajectory, the missile could theoretically have reached Chicago and perhaps even New York,...

Challenge to US Power – Chinese Exceptionalism: WSJ

Te-Ping Chen and Josh Chin July 27, 2017
China’s rise has been steady and fast since the country embraced trade and globalization in the 1980s. If the trajectory continues, China will soon surpass the United States in GDP and other areas. Chinese people have taken notice and take increasing pride in their country’s growth and strength, report Te-Ping Chen and Josh Chin for the Wall Street Journal. Surveys suggest that 80 percent of...

The Indian Express: Where Things Stand on the Dolam Plateau

Sushant Singh July 24, 2017
In June, China increased roadbuilding activity in a disputed territory of the Dolam plateau in the Doklam area, and India soon intervened with troops. “The standoff began after the Chinese started work on extending an unmetalled track in Bhutanese territory, and were prevented by Indian troops," reports Sushant Singh for the Indian Express. "Bhutan and India believe the Chinese have an...

The Washington Post: Ukrainian Separatists Claim to Create New Country

Adam Taylor July 19, 2017
One group of separatists announced that eastern Ukraine is a new country, one that will be close with Russia. A map displayed during the announcement described all of Ukraine, except Crimea, as Malorossiya, or Little Russia. “The move seems to undermine the faltering Minsk peace agreement, a 2015 deal reached between Russian-backed rebels and the government in Kiev that sought to end the violence...

The Guardian: Earth's Sixth Mass Extinction Event Underway, Scientists Warn

Damian Carrington July 13, 2017
The world’s loss of biodiversity is not proceeding at a gradual pace. Instead, a “biological annihilation” of wildlife signals that a sixth mass extinction is more severe than previously assumed, explains Damian Carrington for the Guardian. The study led by Gerardo Ceballos of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México and published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,...