Impact of Pyongyang’s Claim of Nuclear Power After North Korea’s latest long-range ballistic rocket blew up minutes after its launch in April, many observers said that the possibility of a third nuclear test by the North had become stronger. However, Pyongyang discounted the speculation, sayin...

Presidential Aspirants Need Global Perspectives “World” and “globe” are words that I have not heard presidential hopefuls in our country utter for quite some time. Of course, they would argue otherwise, claiming that they have said those words at least scores of times. But my concern is how se...

Redefinition of Korea's Progressivism The latest conflict within the United Progressive Party (UPP) reminded me of what Professor Adam Przeworski of New York University opined. He said that a progressive political struggle is a fight inside a workers’ party over how to define itself bef...

Crucial Court Ruling on Japan's Conscription of Forcible Labor The Supreme Court on May 24 passed an epochal ruling that Japanese companies are responsible for compensating Korean citizens who were conscripted by imperial Japan for labor during the colonial period, overturning lower courts' decisions in a lawsui...

First Step to Korea-China-Japan Economic Integration Seoul, Tokyo and Beijing signed an investment guarantee agreement on May 13. They also agreed to begin trilateral free trade negotiations within this year. President Lee Myung-bak, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda...