KoreaTimes - Columnists

The Korea Times

The Korea Times

The Korea Times

Opinion

Columnists

Donald Kirk

VIRGINIA BEACH - Holiday crowds soak up the surf and sun while sailors and marines train for war in distant countries about which they know very little. A young marine, bored with the routine at one of the dozen or so facilities between this sprawling oceanside community and the huge naval base up the interstate at Norfolk, says in an idle moment he'd like to see what combat is like.

2019-05-23 17:59

From trade war to real war

WASHINGTON - The U.S.-China trade war has grave implications for war and peace around the periphery of China, including the Korean Peninsula. In all the yakking on the U.S. news networks, however, you don't hear much about the danger of the whole shebang exploding into a shooting war.

2019-05-16 17:49

America's enemy within

WASHINGTON - Well, that was quick. After a day of headlines the salvo of long-range projectiles fired by the North Koreans was history, yesterday's news. Reverberations of the shots faded away while experts wondered if those were missiles or just extra long-range artillery.

2019-05-09 18:06

Uncovering Jeju revolt

PHILADELPHIA - The testimony of two grandmothers from the island province of Jeju about their brief encounters with American soldiers more than 70 years ago offers a glimmer of the U.S. role there before the outbreak of the Jeju revolt on April 3, 1948.

2019-05-02 17:51

Russia's stake in North Korea

It's easy to overlook the Russian stake in the Korean Peninsula. We hear so much about China's pivotal role, its influence over North Korea and its enormous trade with South Korea that we tend to forget the Soviet Union shares responsibility with the U.S. for the artificial division of the peninsula between North and South at the 38th parallel in 1945.

2019-04-24 17:20

Memorializing Sewol tragedy

The sinking of the Sewol ferry five years ago was one of the greatest tragedies in Korean history. The memory for me, along with many others, is especially poignant since I spent hours in the great school gymnasium where families of the 304 victims, most of them middle school students, were waiting endlessly for the terrible news they never wanted to hear.

2019-04-18 17:00

Trump's 20-20 vision

WASHINGTON - Summit fever wasn't exactly a problem here this week. In fact, aside from those with a stake in observing, analyzing and assessing President Moon Jae-in's summit with President Trump on Thursday, most people hardly noticed it.

2019-04-11 17:55

Plotting against North Korea

The raid on the North Korean embassy in Madrid by a band named Jayu Joseon, “Free Joseon,” portends disquieting possibilities. Does any movement stand a chance of challenging the regime of Kim Jong-un? Were these people a unique bunch of crazies acting on their own or do they have mysterious powerful backing? And will they wind up being imprisoned for barging into the embassy, beating and tying up everyone there and then stealing the embassy's computers and hard drives?

2019-04-04 17:00

Wise words on North Korea

Ban Ki-moon, now that he's no longer United Nations secretary-general, can offer frank views that would definitely have had North Korean diplomats screaming bloody murder in the UN headquarters had he expressed them there.

2019-03-28 17:55

In defense of freedom

President Moon Jae-in almost accidentally stepped into a battle that did not have to happen with journalists for foreign news organizations.

2019-03-22 17:57

11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

Top 10 Stories

1	Korea makes last-ditch bid to host World Expo 2030 in Busan

2	LA-based photographer captures Koreatown unfazed by pandemic

3	Consumers to face higher prices for daily necessities after Chuseok

4	INTERVIEWIt is premature to revise ROK-US mutual defense treaty: veterans' group head

5	Samsung chief visits Middle East to explore new businesses

6	Internet-only banks outperform legacy lenders in labor productivity

7	Genesis GV80 Coupe looks to compete with Mercedes-Benz, BMW

8	30 out of 74 major financial firms lack female board member

9	Korean shipbuilders seek lead over Chinese rivals in selling LNG carriers to Qatar

10	Lawmakers want chairmen held accountable over financial misconduct

DARKROOM