The Korean Odyssey

  * The Yoon government's denuclearization strategy is unclear. In fact, one might even say that the Yoon administration simply has no explicit denuclearization strategy.   ⓒ iStock   Il Young Jeong Research Professor_Institute of Social Sciences_Sogang University At this very moment, North Korea's nuclear capabilities are advancing and its missile range is expanding. Currently, the Korean government seems less willing to talk than the previous governments. The Yoon Suk Yeol government does not seem to have the power, ability, or will to solve the North Korean nuclear issue. This article is an appeal to and expression of my anger against South and North Korean leaders alike who are held hostage by nuclear games on the peninsula.   The sanctions regime against North Korea has collapsed There are a few key clearly identifiable factors behind the thaw in inter-Korean relations in 2018. First, North Korea’s five ‘neighbors’ (South Korea, the US, China, Russia, a...

  * Foreign tourists looking at North Korea from the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). ⓒ iStock   Il Young Jeong Research Professor_Institute of Social Sciences_Sogang University The cycle of North Korea's armed provocations and the ROK-US alliance's unyielding responses continues to repeat on the Korean peninsula. With both sides unwilling to back down, their confrontations have rocked the peninsula. There are several reasons that lead me to believe that the current Korean Peninsula is closer to possibility of an armed clash than any other time since the Korean War. Allow me to explain.   1. North Korea isn’t using armed provocation as a negotiation tactic. In the past, North Korea's armed provocations were generally interpreted as "for the purpose of gaining an upper hand in negotiations". When a new administration was established in the U.S. or South Korea or multilateral negotiations had fallen into a lull, North Korea often used armed provocations to...

* The Korean Peninsula Peace Symposium is being held in Seoul in June 2022.  We must protect peace on the Korean Peninsula and overcome the economic crisis together.   ⓒ O hMyNews Il Young Jeong Research Professor_Institute of Social Sciences_Sogang University The diplomatic war in Northeast Asia has begun in earnest. This "diplomatic war" began in earnest at the end of China's 20th Party Congress in October 2022 and the end of the U.S. midterm elections in November of the same year. In this article, I analyze what Korea's national interests are in the midst of this volatile situation and whether our government is responding appropriately.   What is the nature of the crisis? The crisis is repeated on the Korean Peninsula. What is the nature of these crises? First, strategic competition between the US and China is raising tensions on the Korean Peninsula and making it difficult to leverage multilateral cooperation to solve regional problems. Competition between th...