Topic: Korean Peninsula
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North Korea abandons armistice: 4 key questions answered
Tensions on the Korean peninsula are ratcheting up. The US has started its annual war games with South Korean forces, and North Korea has used that fact to declare that it is invalidating the armistice agreement that ended the Korean War in 1953. What really has North Korea upset, though, is the tough, new sanctions passed by the United Nations in response to the North's nuclear test last month.Here are the top four questions analysts are wrestling with on the heels of these developments.
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50 years after Cuban missile crisis: 5 ways US must promote nuclear nonproliferation
Fifty years after the Cuban missile crisis brought the world to the brink of a nuclear holocaust, the threats posed by the bomb still hang over us all. The next US president must pursue a nuclear nonproliferation and disarmament “stimulus plan.” It should include the following elements.
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Five tough truths about US-China relations
The more American and Chinese officials proclaim their innocent intentions toward each other, the deeper the level of mistrust they generate. Official candor on five key truths about US-China relations will likely contribute to a more mature bilateral relationship and could help halt a potential slide to conflict.
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Five ways 9/11 has transformed the US military
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East Asia's top 5 island disputes
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Japanese politicians scramble to distance themselves from 'comfort women' comments
The influential mayor of Osaka outraged China and South Korea by saying World War II sex slaves were necessary, prompting fresh doubts about Japan's willingness to acknowledge wartime aggression.
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Opinion: As North Korea heats up, South Korea and Japan should warm ties
Cooperation on missile defense between South Korea and Japan would help blunt threats from North Korea. But Japanese officials' recent insensitivity to Imperial Japan's painful role in World War II, including forcing South Koreans to become 'comfort women,' works against cooperation.
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Opinion: Obama and South Korea's President Park must agree on North Korea policy
As President Obama meets today with South Korea's President Park Geun-hye, how closely they agree on policy toward North Korea and whether they establish a good working relationship will be key to dealing with an increasingly dangerous new leadership in Pyongyang.
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Opinion: Thinking through options on North Korea
As history shows, new nuclear states such as North Korea usually probe the limits of their power and test how other international actors respond. But consider this: Once escalation starts, it can be extremely difficult to control.
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All eyes on Kim Jong-un after North Korea gives 15 years' hard labor to US citizen
North Korea says US citizen Kenneth Bae was conspiring to overthrow the regime. But analysts say the North is likely to use him as a new bargaining chip.
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Global News Blog As South Korea and US end military drills, how will North Korea react?
Many Korea watchers speculated that once joint military drills ended, so would increased tensions with North Korea. But at least one analyst says this might be the moment the North lashes out again.
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Terrorism & Security Seoul pulls workers out of North Korea factory complex, ending cooperative experiment
The last tangible thread of cooperation between Pyongyang and Seoul was cut today, with South Korea announcing it would pull the remaining workers from a sprawling factory complex in the North.
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Is Japan's Shinzo Abe finally acting on his true nationalist colors?
Japan's prime minister appears to be stepping up his campaign to reinterpret Japan's wartime history, aggravating China and South Korea at a time when the region should be uniting to deal with North Korea.
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US military chief in Beijing warns of North Korea 'miscalculation'
US Joint Chiefs of Staff Dempsey is in China looking for help on North Korea. Though Beijing indicated it was 'working on' it, there are a number of reasons why China might be reluctant to push the North too hard.
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Top US general foresees 'prolonged provocation' by North Korea
Belligerence by North Korea, coinciding with Kim Jong-un's ascent as leader, is likely to continue for a 'prolonged' period, Gen. Martin Dempsey said Wednesday after a trip to China. He believes China's military to be as 'concerned' as the US about North Korea's actions.
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The Monitor's View: Europe's ideals win a Serbia-Kosovo pact
An agreement approved Monday by Serbia and Kosovo will put an official end to 1990s genocidal conflict. It also serves as a model for ending other conflicts driven by ethnic, religious, and land disputes.
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North Korea readies short-range missile launchers
On Sunday, North Korea appeared to be planning a missile test launch and moved two short-range Scud missile launchers to its east coast. On Saturday, North Korea reiterated it would not give up its nuclear weapons.
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North Korea: US military braces for heightened readiness
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey says 'we’re in a period of prolonged provocation' with North Korea and its young dictator, Kim Jong-un. The US will continue holding military exercises with South Korea, Dempsey says.
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North Korea leans toward talks, but restates intention to keep nuclear weapons
North Korea has exhibited signs it may be willing to discuss some nuclear disarmament, and negotiate to lift U.N. sanctions. But Saturday, the country reiterated its intention not to completely denuclearize.
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Opinion: Talks with North Korea? Better to apply financial pressure (+video)
South Korea and the US must be skeptical about future talks, not least because North Korea has no incentive to change. However, the North is vulnerable to financial pressure, as seen when the US once sanctioned an Asian bank that handled North Korean money.
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Decoder Wire North Korea nuclear talks: Did John Kerry soften conditions? (+video)
North Korea nuclear talks are possible if the North gives up its nuclear program, Secretary of State John Kerry said this weekend. That's not new, but Kerry's tone has worried some analysts.
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Decoder Wire Why hasn't North Korea fired its Musudan missile yet?
Satellite imagery has detected the movement of several Musudan missiles toward the east coast of North Korea, and a test is widely expected. But April 15 is not likely to be the day. Here's why.
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North Korea's Kim Jong-un celebrates missile-free holiday (+video)
Officials in South Korea, the United States, and Japan say that intelligence indicates North Korea, which tested a nuclear device in February, is ready to test a medium-range missile.
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Psy has new music video. World hits 'play' button.
The world may be rattled by North Korea's bellicosity. But for the moment at least, Korean pop star Psy's new song and video 'Gentleman' is the biggest news from the Korean Peninsula.
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Terrorism & Security North Korea nuclear missile capability: Do they have it or not?
The only declassified sentence in a Defense Intelligence report raised concern that North Korea might have the ability to miniaturize its nuclear weapons. Other defense agencies disagree.
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Friend or frenemy? For China, key issue is how US really views it
Both the US and China want to tamp down the North Korea crisis. But as Secretary of State John Kerry visits Beijing this weekend, an underlying issue is mutual suspicion over strategic aims in the Pacific.
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Terrorism & Security Foreign ministers struggle to find common ground on Syrian conflict (+video)
Russia has been unmoving in its opposition to stronger action against the Assad regime, putting it at odds with the rest of the G8, meeting today in London, on how to resolve the Syrian conflict.
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Calm in Guam as islanders doubt North Korean missile aim
The US territory's crisis-ready inhabitants are trusting God, Uncle Sam, common sense, and poor aim to keep them safe from a ballistic assault by North Korea.
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North Korea threat: How one island is taking Kim Jong-un more seriously
Island residents of Baengnyeong are at the center of the North-South conflict, and are taking North Korea's threats of a missile test seriously, but calmly.
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Terrorism & Security Just how bothered is Beijing about North Korea?
While neither Beijing nor Washington want to see North Korea's belligerence explode into actual conflict, Beijing is not willing to push Pyongyang too hard for fear of toppling the regime.
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