One of the most oft-repeated axioms of Asian geopolitics is that there won’t be a new war on the Korean Peninsula because neither North and South Korea nor their principal backers (China and the US) want it to happen. The South and the US will not attack the North because that would lead to a [Read more...]

One thing which I believe is becoming increasingly likely is a third nuclear test by North Korea. Last May, when North Korea tested its second nuke, I suggested that the entire nuclear dispute had taken on the feeling of one too many a season of ‘24’ – i.e. it had lost the ability to shock [Read more...]

Among the less noticed business news stories to have emerged over the past 48 hours were reports that North Korea recently opened its first American-style fast food restaurant, Samtaeseong, in Pyongyang, and plans to open further branches in future.

If this had happened in any other country, it would probably not merit any attention. But this [Read more...]

The North Korean nuclear crisis has been going on for so long now, and has become so repetitive, that like various US high-suspense TV dramas such as ‘24’ and ‘Lost’, it is losing its ability to shock. The cast of characters changes slightly, but the themes and events are fairly constant. (The only real shock [Read more...]

Perhaps the most noteworthy aspect of North Korea’s Taepodong 2 rocket launch on Sunday was what a non-event it was. True, the Korean missile travelled further than any previous one – 3,200 km – but it failed to carry out Pyongyang’s stated goal of putting a satellite into orbit (although the North’s media says it [Read more...]

There’s a well-known Roman maxim, ‘If You Want Peace, Prepare For War’.

Judging by some potentially dangerous maneuverings taking place on the Korean peninsula, I can only hope that North Korea’s leaders are taking this proverb to heart.

There are several developments which are raising regional tensions right now:

• North Korea has confirmed that it plans to [Read more...]

Last year, I came up with a new acronym to describe a group of economies in Asia that exists largely on the margins of the world – BLANKs (Burma, Laos, Afghanistan, and North Korea). Given their disconnectedness from global investment flows and trade, surely they will not be affected by the current recession?

Actually, no.

For [Read more...]