Eastern Asia

In one of his past articles the author promised to discuss in more detail how anti-Japanese sentiments in Seoul began to diminish with Joe Biden’s accession to power. The first signs of this development were observed at the end of 2020, when there was already a concern that the Seoul-Tokyo feud might have a negative impact on the partnership between Seoul…

The author has repeatedly pointed out that one of the serious factors destabilizing inter-Korean relations is the activities of anti-North Korean NGOs that send obscene and inappropriate leaflets across the border. This is mostly done by the “Fighters for a Free North Korea,” led by the controversial defector Park Sang-Hak. Following the events…

Having described the general results of the visit of the President of South Korea to the United States, we would like to take a closer look at what was the reaction of Beijing to the clearly visible anti-Chinese visit and how in Seoul they diligently pretend that “there was nothing like this and we will not get anything like that.” You may recall that, although…

The recent May 24-27 trip to Europe by Chinese Communist Party Central Committee Political Bureau member Yang Jiechi, responsible for formulating and implementing the Chinese government’s foreign policy, is not at all an everyday occurrence at this stage of the “Great World Game”. Above all, because the first and most important country of visit this time was Russia, from where the distinguished guest…

According to the author, the main outcome of the South Korean president’s visit to the United States in May was not agreements on economic or medical cooperation, but the lifting of ballistic missile range restrictions on the ROK. Indeed, actions aimed at limiting South Korea’s military capabilities by the United States have a long…

On March 15, 2021, Kim Jong-un’s sister, Kim Yo-jong, issued a statement condemning the staging of scheduled joint military exercises by the United States and ROK. She stated that whether or not relations between the DPRK and South Korea “return to the new starting point of peace and prosperity as witnessed in those spring days three years ago” depended on the attitude…

The tense relations between Seoul and Tokyo are a constant subject of the author’s attention, and his most recent piece on the topic addressed how the issue of forced labor has been added on top of that about Korean comfort women.  After all – in comparison with fifteen grandmothers – they went through a lot more, and…

When it comes to the Taiwan issue today, one can’t help but picture the violent verbal skirmishes between Beijing and Washington, as well as the mutual displays of muscle around the “rebel island” (as the Chinese parlance puts it). All sorts of warships and warplanes are roaming around in the outskirts of Taiwan, and somewhere paratroopers practice disembarking from the sea…

In May 2021, South Korea’s President paid a scheduled visit to the United State where he met with the recently elected US leader. The trip took place at a time when a number of internal political issues plague the ROK and the confrontation between the US and PRC continues. Prior to the visit, South Korean journalists and experts outlined quite a number of points that were supposed…

On April 20, 2021, South Korea completed the ratification process for three key International Labor Organization (ILO) conventions. ILO Director-General Guy Ryder welcomed the ratification as an important step forward in the development of the nation’s labor relations. However, one needs to understand that the path towards…

The headline of this article would have been a surprise to the author himself even one year ago. Back then, an entirely expected reaction would have been something like, “This can’t be because this could never happen.” It turns out that it can, and is right now. This once again illustrates the extremely high level of unpredictability…

Local by-elections failed on April 7, 2021; the Conservative Party regained Seoul and Busan, South Koreas’ most prominent cities. This result has caused specific changes in the leadership of political parties in the Republic of Korea and the departure of the administration’s aggravation of factional struggle. One example was a high-profile story when five freshmen DP…