Topic: North Korea

Top galleries, list articles, quizzes

2013 Pulitzer Prize winners: 4 excellent books

Months before the Pulitzer Prize committee got there, the Monitor's book critics had already let readers know that these four books were something special. Here's why.
Bestselling books the week of 4/8/13, according to IndieBound*

What's selling best in independent bookstores across America.
15 promising nonfiction books for spring 2013

April showers bring May flowers. Here's some fresh non-fiction to check out this spring while you enjoy the new greenery.
Top 3 threats to the United States: the good and bad news

The annual Worldwide Threat Assessment of the US Intelligence Community is out this week, a widely-anticipated report compiled by the nation’s intelligence agencies. Here is the good and bad news about the top three threats facing the United States, according to an unclassified version of the report.
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.

All Content

Defiant North Korean rocket launch gives Kim Jong-un a boost (+video)

One year into his role as North Korea's leader, Kim Jong-un made a statement by launching a rocket on Wednesday. Experts suggest the launch was intended to honor the current leader's father who died last year.
North Korea ignores international opposition, launches rocket

Despite U.N. sanctions and international warnings, North Korea launched a long-range rocket on Wednesday. Most analysts agree the move was intended to bolster national support for Kim Jong-un.
Focus Which world hot spots will clamor for Obama's attention?

Obama is unequivocal about his intent to refocus on US domestic issues during his second term. But the world is not likely to cooperate. Here are seven foreign-policy challenges already bearing down on him.
North Korea extends window, plans for rocket launch (+video)

Faced with technical problems, North Korea extended the window during which they plan to launch a long-ranch rocket. It will be the country's second attempt to launch a rocket this year.
Japanese chef dishes on North Korean leader and missile launch

'It’s hard to understand why surrounding countries are so sensitive,' says Kenji Fujimoto, who left North Korea in 2001 but returned for a visit last summer at Kim Jong-un’s invitation.
Greece seen as most corrupt European nation, survey says

Transparency International ranks Greece, along with other European countries racked by the financial crisis, poorly in its 2012 Corruption Perceptions Index.
US, Russia set for surprise meeting on Syria. Is compromise in works? (+video)

Secretary Hillary Clinton and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will discuss Syria with UN envoy Lakhdar Brahimi today, amid reports that Syria is deploying its chemical weapons.
NATO urges North Korea to cancel rocket launch

NATO joins the chorus of those like Russia and China who are calling on North Korea to abandon its planned rocket launch, saying it would violate UN Security Council restrictions.
Terrorism & Security And the most corrupt nation this year is.... (+video)

It's a tie between Afghanistan, North Korea, and Somalia. Elsewhere, bankrupt Greece, one-party China, and various 'Arab Spring' nations stand out in Transparency International's annual rankings.
North Korea preps for rocket launch despite international warnings

Many are concerned that North Korea's rocket launch is cover for developing the technology to attach a nuclear warhead to a long-range missile capable of going as far as Hawaii, Alaska, or the US West Coast.
Russia, China warn North Korea about potential rocket launch

The two Asian superpowers are trying to convince their small Communist neighbor that launching another rocket is not in its best interest.
Sexy in his Mao suit? China's party paper falls for Kim Jong-un Onion joke (+video)

Kim Jong-un is named 'Sexiest Man Alive' by the satirical publication The Onion. A Chinese newspaper responded with a 55-page photo spread.
Susan Rice: why GOP opposition to her is no longer white-hot (+video)

Key GOP voices including Sens. John McCain and Lindsey Graham have tempered their rhetoric about Ambassador Susan Rice, who could be nominated as a possible secretary of State.
Global first: Brit visits all 201 states without flying

Graham Hughes says Iraq and Afghanistan were easy. Islands like Nauru were the real challenges.
Escape From North Korea

Journalist Melanie Kirkpatrick shares the harrowing stories of North Koreans desperate to escape a despotic regime.
Obama's Myanmar speech sends message to North Korea (+video)

Barack Obama on Monday became the first US president to visit Myanmar, showing other Asian nations – such as North Korea – that America is willing to reach out to help reforms.
Obama's visit to Myanmar marks 'new chapter' in US-Myanmar relations

As Myanmar tiptoes toward democracy, Obama - the first US president to visit the former pariah state - denied he was endorsing the government amid criticism that his visit came too soon.
Opinion: Obama is right to visit Myanmar (Burma)

The apparent end of censorship has unleashed a veritable media gold rush in Myanmar (Burma). On his visit there, President Obama should encourage the country's wave of democratic reforms by highlighting the urgent need for free and open media to reach all parts of the country.
The Monitor's View: China's new leaders can't rule by pedigree

Xi Jinping, the new leader of the Communist Party, takes power along with others as descendants of Mao's revolutionary elite. But China needs rulers open to change, not those who cling to hereditary privilege.
Who are China's next leaders?

On Nov. 15, the new Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Chinese Communist Party – the group that rules China presented itself to the world. Here are the bios of the seven men who take the reins of China.
AQ Khan: Father of Pakistan's nuclear bomb jumps into politics

AQ Khan, lauded by many Pakistanis for giving the country the bomb, has launched a political movement targeting the youth vote. He has been accused of selling nuclear secrets to North Korea and Iran.
In Obama win, China sees key prize: stability (+video)

President Obama’s reelection was welcomed by China, as well as Japan and South Korea, as the region experiences sharpening tensions over territorial disputes.
Backchannels Report: $800 million is snuck out of Iraq each week

It's a staggering claim, but it was made by the country's Supreme Audit Bureau.
Readers Write: How to fight voter-ID disenfranchisement; What US must do about Iran

Letters to the Editor for the weekly print issue of October 29, 2012: In response to voter ID laws (blatant attempts at disenfranchisement) communities should band together and pull off the greatest voter registration drive in history. The US and its allies should step up support for legitimate democracy movements in Iran with the goal of destabilizing and replacing the regime.
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.