“Besieged by Imperialists”: North Korea’s State Media in English, 1998-2003," an article I've worked on off and on for more years than I care to remember, is now up at the Journal of East Asian Affairs. lnkd.in/e-RqC6Vh

The new issue of the Journal of East Asian Affairs @JOEAA_INSS is out, the English-language journal of South Korea’s Institute for National Security Strategy (INSS). (I am executive editor, with Mason Richey as editor-in-chief) www.inss.re.kr/en/publicati...

The new issue--38.1--of JOEAA is online! With articles from Hon-min Yau, Rob York (@rjamesyork.bsky.social), Satoshi Machida, Leif-Eric Easley, and Sofiya Sayankina. All articles are Open Access. www.inss.re.kr/en/publicati... #BigIdeasForEastAsia

www.koreatimes.co.kr/opinion/edit... My latest op-ed in the Korea Times, this time on whatever the heck this SK nuke-powered submarine deal is supposed to be. Tl;dr version: we don't have enough information.

isanet-org.zoom.us/webinar/regi... On Nov. 3, I'll be moderating an APEC 2025 retrospective webinar, a partnership of ISA and the Korea International Studies Association. Experts joining: Michelle Lee (WaPo), Peter Ward (Sejong Inst.), and Moamen Gouda (HUFS). Register at link, if interested.

isanet-org.zoom.us/webinar/regi... On Oct. 30, I'll be moderating an APEC 2025 preview webinar, a partnership of ISA and the Korea International Studies Association. Experts joining: Hans Schattle (Yonsei), Go Myung-hyun (INSS), and Shimaa Hanafy (HUFS). Register at provided link, if interested.

www.koreatimes.co.kr/opinion/2025... I have some not very nice things to say about Trump's extortionate economic 'dealing' with South Korea, and some unsolicited advice on what president Lee could do to get more leverage.

www.koreatimes.co.kr/opinion/2025... My latest op-ed, on the Trump-Lee summit. TLDR version: Lee did fine, but most important issues remain undecided/unclear, and a neo-authoritarian US under Trump is an unreliable, risky ally for SK.

www.koreatimes.co.kr/opinion/2025... My latest in the Korea Times. TLDR version: the new US-Korea trade deal isn't worth the paper it isn't written on.

www.koreatimes.co.kr/opinion/2025... My latest on what South Korea should learn from the wars in the Middle East and Ukraine.

"The [] rise of authoritarianism at home is precipitating a kind of international authoritarianism, in which the American president can unleash the most powerful military the world has ever known on a whim."

It's just vintage Trump, his foreign policy version of a 1953 Chateau Lafite.

This whole Iran thing is classic Trump... Take a real problem (Iran nuke program), misidentify the solution (tactical bombing), make the problem worse (regime mos def wants nukes now, and where is the 60% HEU?), declare victory prematurely by tweet, walk away...

Pretty interesting article if you're interested in modern Korean history. Really cool find. koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/2025-06...

Why am I so unimpressed by these strikes? Israel and the US have failed to target significant elements of Iran's nuclear materials and production infrastructure. RISING LION and MIDNIGHT HAMMER are tactically brilliant, but may turn out to be strategic failures. 🧵 1/17

Meine Analyse der koreanischen Praesidentschaftswahl, und was sie fuer Europa bedeutet: www.ipg-journal.de/regionen/asi...

My take on the ROK prez election and implications for Europe: www.ips-journal.eu/topics/forei...

A truly load-bearing caveat here: www.foreignaffairs.com/china/case-p...

Re: Musk/Trump beef. The optimal scenario is that Trump nationalizes spacex/twitter/tesla and deports Musk, which triggers Musk's Doge moles to dump the goods on Trump-Epstein. Trump resigns and Maga explodes.

My take on how to gauge the first 150 days of foreign, security, and defense policy by the new SK prez, regardless of who wins on June 3. www.koreatimes.co.kr/opinion/2025...

This article correctly points out US (and wider) dependence on China's REE processing dominance and effects of export controls. But it doesn't talk about wider context: US semiconductor export controls and trade warfare, which misses forest for trees. www.nytimes.com/2025/06/02/b...

Heading into S Korea's presidential election tomorrow, an "opinion rigging" scandal has blown up, with a right-wing educational enterprise accused of posting manipulative comments online favoring Kim Moon-soo (from impeached ex-president Yoon's political party) and bashing frontrunner Lee Jae-myung.

SecDef Hegseth's Shangri-La Dialogue speech repeated conventional wisdom that's already eroded. No longer a functional division of getting security from US, prosperity from China. China's emerged as a global security provider, as @ibkardon.bsky.social and I show in @intsecurity.bsky.social:

The fifth and final article of new issue--37.2--of JOEAA is from Masahiro Matsumura. A great analysis of the evolution of Taiwanese defense policy, and how it affects Japan's security interests. www.inss.re.kr/en/publicati... JOEAA is Open Acess. #BigIdeasForEastAsia

The fourth article of new issue--37.2--of JOEAA is by Erwin Tan. He sets out a new theoretical framework for evaluating disaster, crisis, and emergency preparation, response, and management. www.inss.re.kr/en/publicati... JOEAA is Open Acess. #BigIdeasForEastAsia

The third article of new issue--37.2--of JOEAA is by Bernhard Seliger. He looks at how Covid-19 affected regional integration in East Asia. Critical insights on a key topic. www.inss.re.kr/en/publicati... JOEAA is Open Acess. #BigIdeasForEastAsia

In second article of new issue--37.2--of JOEAA, Jevon Dixon analyzes determinants of piracy in the Malacca Strait. Quantitatively rich and sophisticated, policy-relevant. www.inss.re.kr/en/publicati... JOEAA is Open Acess. #BigIdeasForEastAsia

In lead of article of new issue--37.2--of JOEAA, June Teufel Dreyer examines the history and contemporary state of Japan-China relations. So timely! www.inss.re.kr/en/publicati... JOEAA is Open Acess. #BigIdeasForEastAsia

The new issue--37.2--of the Journal of East Asian Affairs (JOEAA) is online! With articles from June Teufel Dreyer, Jevon Dixon, Bernhard Seliger, Er-Win Tan, and Masahiro Matsumura. All articles are Open Access. www.inss.re.kr/en/publicati... #BigIdeasForEastAsia

This is a mirage -- Korean shipbuilding is advanced because it is done in Korea. The Koreans can build ships for the US in Korea, but not in the US where there are shortages of skilled manpower. Another bogus America First idea. www.nytimes.com/2025/04/17/w...

A terrible day for the U.S. Constitution and the rule of law. The Supreme Court and Congress need to take much stronger stands immediately, and all corners of civil society must make it clear that the public will not stand for kidnappings and unlawful deportations of any kind.

So, now that President Cheezit was forced into partially backing off his tariff war due to a mixture of collapsing bonds and advice from a handful of economic advisors, how long before said advisors are ejected from the WH after dotard decides he should have stuck with maximum tariffs after all?

NATO wants to keep trade issues out of group statements, Rutte saying that trade is separate from security and defense... Hmm, I remember being reliably told that export controls and tariffs were critical for security, notably vis-a-vis China. You can't have it both ways, fellas.

Reading the Constitutional Court ruling carefully, justices must have taken much care to make findings as clear, comprehensive and concise as possible for people to understand. Key part in their assessment of the lead-up to martial law and whether martial law was the appropriate option: (thread)

www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/opinion/... My latest op-ed on the US's slide into authoritarianism.

And now BA's lost baggage claim website doesn't work. Information input on pages 1-5, but the Next button on page 5 doesn't work. Screw you, BA.

I can't emphasize enough how awful BA (@britishairways.bsky.social) has been in fixing my lost baggage situation. Following BA misplacing my checked bag, a cavalcade of incompetence followed. No updates, then total confusion, then contradictory messages. Worst service ever. Screw you, BA.

It seems I've also been placed on leave, just like the rest of my VOA colleagues. Truth is, I can't know for sure, because when I woke up this morning in Seoul, I'd already been locked out of all VOA-related systems and accounts.

What a shame for the Trump people to pull the plug on a program that promoted environmental awareness, improved public health, and boosted the global credibility and "soft power" of the United States. All at a very low cost. Shutting it down is thoroughly self-defeating - unless you're a polluter.

“Some people call me the Space Cowboy / Dumb people throw trash around.”

My latest op-ed in the Korea Times. m.koreatimes.co.kr/pages/articl...

My latest op-ed, this time on the constitutional destruction in the US. m.koreatimes.co.kr/pages/articl...

(Cross-post from X) "Authoritarian Survival and Leadership Succession in North Korea and Beyond" by @pward89.bsky.social and me is now out with @cambridgeuppolisci.bsky.social It's FREE to download until Feb. 18: doi.org/10.1017/9781... So, what's in the Element...

PPP laying the groundwork for denying the legitimacy of the Constitutional Court’s decision on Yoon’s impeachment by categorizing some of the justices as part of a progressive cartel bent on removing conservatives from power. 1/ www.joongang.co.kr/article/2531...

If US allies aren't alarmed yet, the casual disregard for congressionally appropriated funds ought to offer some clues as to how much respect they'll accord to security treaty commitments.

Prosecutors indicted South Korea’s impeached president, Yoon Suk Yeol, on Sunday on charges of leading an insurrection when he briefly imposed martial law last month. Yoon is the first sitting South Korean president to be indicted and criminally investigated. www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/0...

After failing to get approval to extend the arrest warrant to facilitate more time for investigation, prosecutors have indicted Yoon on the charge of insurrection. m.yna.co.kr/view/AKR2025...

Very stable genius at work. www.telegraph.co.uk/us/politics/...

Oh no that’s horrible. I sure hope no one else sends fake reports to [email protected].