In The News

Deutsche Welle: Trump Has Europe Concerned Over Iran Nuclear Deal

Kersten Knipp September 7, 2017
The US president is signaling an opinion that Iran is not complying with the nuclear deal in place since 2015. Without providing specifics, the US ambassador to the United Nations suggests that the United States has technical reasons for ending the agreement, though these would “contradict the information provided by the International Atomic Energy Agency,” reports Kersten Knipp for Deutsche...

The Korea Herald: Seoul's Plans to Raise Heat on NK Hit Roadblock in Russia

Choi He-suk September 6, 2017
Nuclear-armed North Korea poses a grave threat to South Korea. North Korea seeks to reunite with South Korea with the Kim regime in charge. South Korea, the world's 11th largest economy, thrives while North Korea does not rank among the world's top hundred economies. China and Russia help supply North Korea, and security analysts suggest that the two countries are key to restraining...

Al Jazeera: Nearly 20,000 Rohingya Flee to Bangladesh From Myanmar

August 31, 2017
More than 18,000 Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh in recent days to escape fighting in western Myanmar. The two nations share a border of 270 kilometers; Bangladesh is 90 percent Muslim, and Myanmar is about 90 percent Buddhist and 4 percent Muslim. Bangladesh, already hosting 400,000 Rohingya refugees, tries to block the new waves of refugees. With the Rohingya Muslims denied citizenship rights...

The Japan Times: Missile Fired Over Japan Escalates Tensions

Jesse Johnson and Reiji Yoshida August 30, 2017
With no warning, North Korea fired a ballistic missile over northern Japan into the Pacific Ocean. In the past, North Korea claimed such rockets were associated with satellites. “The Japanese government said the missile flew over southern Hokkaido for two minutes, later breaking into three segments before plunging into the Pacific Ocean about 1,180 km east of Cape Erimo,” report Jesse Johnson and...

The Times of India: Trump on Afghanistan

Nayan Chanda August 29, 2017
US President Donald Trump committed the United States to indefinite continuation of the 16-year-old war in Afghanistan, emphasizing “winning” and killing terrorists rather than nation building. Trump offered few specifics, but troop numbers of troops discussed are much smaller than the 100,000 deployed in 2010. In line with his transactional approach to foreign policy, Trump outlined expectations...

South China Morning Post: China-India Row as Catalyst?

Sarah Zheng August 28, 2017
India and China agreed to disengaging troops in the Doklam area of Bhutan after a two-month standoff. The announcement came just before the BRICS summit, starting September 3, for representatives of China and India as well as Brazil, Russia and South Africa. BRICS could be the ideal setting to develop an ongoing process for handling such disputes, suggest economists and researchers interviewed by...

The Telegraph: North Korea Attempted to Ship Material to Syria’s Chemical Weapons Agency, UN Experts Say

Harriet Alexander August 26, 2017
North Korea has twice attempted to ship chemical weapons to front companies for the Syrian government’s Scientific Studies and Research Center this year, according to a classified UN report. Two unnamed countries intercepted the shipments. “The shipments were sent by KOMID, the Korea Mining Development Trading Corporation – an organisation blacklisted by the UN security council in 2009, and...