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Showing posts with the label North Korea Politics

What next after North Korea's third failed missile test?

Credits- VOA A missile fired by North Korea has yet again failed. The Diplomat in it's latest article delve deep into what will be North Korea's next move. ( To read the entire article, click here .........)

Pyongyang's Never-Ending Purges ( Source- The National Interest / Author- Gordon G.Chang)

North Korean head of state Kim Jung Un ( Credits- Internet image) Source- The National Interest Author-  Gordon G. Chang CHOE RYONG-HAE, North Korea’s second- or third-ranked figure, did not attend a state funeral in November, and, more significantly, his name did not appear on the list of the event’s organizing committee. Choe’s sin? A water leak at the newly constructed Mount Paektu Hero Youth Power Station. A South Korean government spokesman said the omission of Choe’s name was unprecedented, but transfers, demotions and executions of senior regime figures—in the top levels of the Korean Workers’ Party and especially the Korean People’s Army—have become all too common under young leader Kim Jong-un, who came to power on the unexpected death of his father, Kim Jong-il, in December 2011. Many thought that Choe had been executed. The speculation was only natural. Since Kim Jong-un took over, many senior figures have lost their lives, like Kim Yang-gon, who died

When a Collapsing, Paranoid North Korea Turns to Nukes. . . ( Source- The National Interest / Author- Sungtae Jacky Park)

Image credits- Wikimedia Commons / Roman Harak) Source- The National Interest Author-  Sungtae Jacky Park On February 7, North Korea conducted another long-range missile test, disguised as a satellite launch. The test comes after a nuclear test on January 6 and a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) test in December of last year, indicating that the Kim Jong-un regime is intent on developing a secure and deliverable nuclear deterrent. If the regime achieves its objective, North Korea could become the most dangerous nuclear-weapons state in the world, not because the Kim regime is irrational, but because North Korea is the only existing nuclear-weapons state that could conceivably collapse at any moment. Then, U.S. policy makers will have to ask a very, very uncomfortable question: Should the United States come to terms with North Korea as a nuclear-weapons state and seek détente? The conventional logic with regard to nuclear deterrence rests on the principle t

Why an Iran Deal for North Korea Won’t Happen ( Source- The Diplomat / Author- Robert E. Kelly)

Credits- You Tube Source- The Diplomat Author- Robert E. Kelly In July, world powers and Iran finally struck a deal over the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program. This set off speculation that perhaps the Iran deal might be a template for a deal with North Korea. Although the Iran agreement remains contentious in the United States, much of the world finds it a broadly acceptable compromise. Maximalist demands on Iran were never going to work unless the U.S. was prepared for major military action and a potential regional meltdown. Some of kind of diplomacy was ultimately necessary. North Korea is similar. At this point, almost any kind of deal seems preferably to the status quo: a spiraling nuclear and missile program with no oversight. As I have argued elsewhere, it is increasingly hard to see how North Korean nuclearization ends well. In March, when it became clear just how many nuclear weapons North Korea might build in the next decade, I argued in this space that Sou

Doomsday: The Coming Collapse of North Korea ( Source- The National Interest / Author- Jamie Metzl)

Source- You Tube / Credits- Author Source- The National Interest Author- Jamie Metzl As a member of the U.S. National Security Council staff in the later 1990s, I worked with colleagues on plans for responding to the potential collapse of the North Korean government. As a self-induced famine ravaged the country, we considered what we might do when the regime finally succumbed to the inevitable consequence of its own insanity. Almost twenty years later, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is still there and those predicting its imminent collapse have continually been proven wrong. But today, the North Korean madness may well be nearing its endgame. I predict it will be gone within a decade. The continued survival of North Korea’s government is based on its ability to harness absolute terror against its population, its possession of nuclear weapons, and its access to economic resources. Although North Korea requires all three of these to survive, contradictions be

This Man Is Now Number 2 in North Korea ( Source- The Diplomat / Author- Ankit Panda)

Credits- Internet Image Source- The Diplomat Author- Ankit Panda The question of “who’s number two” in Kim Jong-un’s regime in North Korea has been blurry  for some time, particularly since the dramatic late-2013 purge and execution of Kim’s uncle Jang Song-thaek. Since Jang’s demise, there have been several pretenders to that position. Now, it appears that one has formally risen above the rest. Hwang Pyong-so, widely believed to be the front-runner to be North Korea’s “number two,” confirmed his claim to that title this week when he was given membership in the politburo presidium of North Korea’s Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK). This position, in addition to his status as the top political officer in North Korea’s military, makes him de facto second-in-command to Kim. Hwang’s ascent to the politburo presidium should end speculation on this topic. Hwang’s name was in the news last fall when, with Choe Ryong-hae and Kim Yang-gon in tow, he arrived in Incheon, South

Kim Jong-un Executes Senior KPA General ( Source- The Diplomat, Author- Ankit Panda)

Kim Jong-Un ( Image credits Wikimedia Commons/ Author- Monico Chavez) Source- The Diplomat Author- Ankit Panda Recent reports based on comments by an anonymous South Korean official suggest that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un might have embarked on a new military purge. General Pyon In-son, the head of operations of the Korean People’s Army and a swift riser through KPA ranks, was reportedly “killed for expressing an opinion different to that of Kim,” according to Bloomberg. The incident will emphasize discipline — i.e. complying with Kim Jong-un’s vision — across the entire KPA establishment. Kim Jong-un, in general, is suspected to mistrust several senior KPA commanders, many of whom held senior positions during his father’s tenure as supreme leader. In November, Kim purged a senior National Defense Commission official, Ma Won-chun, for corrupt practices and a failure to follow orders. Purges have been an important part of Kim Jong-un’s lengthy power consolidation