Page 2 - Lee Jong Eun News Today

This year marks the 70th anniversary of the Korean Armistice Agreement and the subsequent signing of the ROK-U.S. Mutual Defense Treaty. For the past seventy years, the ROK-U.S. alliance has been a critical framework for South Koreas security. But why did South Korea actively pursue a bilateral security pact rather than a multilateral alliance similar to NATO? To answer this question, it is helpful to briefly review South Koreas geopolitical calculations during the Korean War.

This year marks the 70th anniversary of the Korean Armistice Agreement and the subsequent signing of the ROK-U.S. Mutual Defense Treaty. For the past seventy years, the ROK-U.S. alliance has been a critical framework for South Koreas security. But why did South Korea actively pursue a bilateral security pact rather than a multilateral alliance similar to NATO? To answer this question, it is helpful to briefly review South Koreas geopolitical calculations during the Korean War.

This years spring has been a busy time of bilateral diplomacy between South Korea and Japan. In March, South Korean President Yoon Seok Yeol visited Japan to meet Japans Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, marking the first bilateral summit in 12 years. The summit revived shuttle diplomacy between the two heads of state. In early May, Kishida visited South Korea for another summit and invited Koreas president again to Japan to participate in the G7 Summit later that month. During the G7 Summit, the tw...

Throughout its history, Korea has faced geopolitical challenges from regional neighbors. Koreas past rulers have struggled to protect the nations sovereignty amid regional geopolitical conflicts.

Recently, foreign ministers of South Korea and Japan held a bilateral meeting while attending the Munich Security Conference. The foreign ministers discussed two topics. First, they condemned North Koreas latest conducting of an ICBM missile test. Second, the foreign ministers continued the bilateral negotiations on resolving the issue of compensation for the South Korean victims of wartime forced labor.

As the world begins 2023, the geopolitical situation around the world is not bright. In Europe, the Russia-Ukraine War has dragged on for nearly a year, while the prospects of an escalation are stoking international security anxieties. In East Asia, North Korea threatens to conduct a seventh nuclear test and perfect its ICBM capability to place the U.S. mainland in its crosshairs.

Despite being allies of the United States, South Korea and Japan did not have a direct security partnership during the Cold War. During the Korean War, South Korean President Syngman Rhee threatened to shoot Japanese forces first if they arrived to “help” Korea from the communist invasion. Japan, officially a pacifist state with “self-defense forces,” also did not affirm its security commitment to the neighboring democracy. The two countries animosities over past history and their relian...

In the U.S. midterm elections this month, the Republicans were widely predicted to win a big victory. Pre-election forecasts suggested Republicans could take control of both the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate. The actual election results, however, were, overall, a mixed outcome. While Republicans appear to have taken narrow control of the House of Representatives, their margin of the majority appears to be far smaller than expected.

Last week, North Korea fired an intermediate range ballistic missile (IRBM) over Japan in what it claims to be part of “tactical nuclear drills.” The missile was reportedly a version of the Hwasong-12, similar to the Norths missile fired in 2017. The missile flew 4,600 kilometers, flying briefly over the northern prefectures of Japan before falling eventually into the Pacific Ocean to the east of Japan.

In international relations, political actors ambiguous, inconsistent behaviors are frequent subjects of debates and controversies. To some critics, U.S. President Joe Bidens recent Saudi Arabia visit to request the latters cooperation in the global energy market contradicted his administrations pledge to counter autocracy and advocate human rights as core foreign policy values.