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9. Ahn Ho-young

Korea and Poland: much closer than we think

It was last month through this column that I made three points on recommendations to advance relations between Korea and Japan under the title of “2 Dos and 1 Don't for Korea and Japan.” As a columnist, it is always encouraging when I get feedback from readers. This time, I got it from a somewhat unexpected source; an English-language program on Poland's public TV, TVP.

2022-11-16 14:33

2 'dos' and 1 'don't' for Korea and Japan

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida made a speech at the Japanese Diet on Oct. 3. In the speech, Kishida described Korea as “an important neighbor with which Japan has to cooperate in order to deal with many issues in the international community.” He also said, “Japan will closely consult with Korea, because we have to return our bilateral relations to a solid one and further develop it.”

2022-10-18 18:12

Worrying aspects of Inflation Reduction Act

The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 was signed into law by U.S. President Joe Biden on Aug. 16. The law has a lot of merits. It is believed to help the U.S. to reduce the deficit. It will help to lower prescription drug prices, which are too high by international standards as I experienced through many years of living in the U.S. Furthermore, it will significantly help to promote clean energy.

2022-09-12 17:40

Goodbye, Gen. Olmstead!

During my time as ambassador to the U.S., it was such an honor to meet with remarkable U.S. soldiers who fought valiantly during the Korean War, made huge sacrifices and took much pride in Korea's remarkably successful nation-building. Gen. Olmstead, who passed away on July 20, was one such soldier.

2022-08-16 17:00

Questions NATO summit posed for Korea

NATO invited to its Madrid summit four Asia-Pacific countries, namely Australia, Japan, Korea and New Zealand. The invitation raised many questions for Korea, which in my mind covered almost the whole range of foreign policy challenges facing the new Yoon government.

2022-07-19 17:00

Rules-based international order

On the eve of the summit between President Yoon Suk-yeol and U.S. President Joe Biden on May 21, I submitted through this column three points Yoon should focus on during the upcoming summit. I suggested that Yoon focus on the common values underlying the alliance. I also suggested that the two presidents must have substantial discussions on how to deal with North Korea's development of nuclear weapons and missiles as well as worrisome changes in its nuclear doctrine. I then suggested that they fully address the issues related to economic security.

2022-06-14 17:00

North Korea's nuclear doctrine

The past several months have been a particularly frustrating time for a large number of North Korea watchers. North Korea began the year with the repeated testing of missiles of various ranges and capabilities, many of them capable of evading interception by missile defense systems deployed in the South. After the Beijing Winter Olympic Games, North Korea tested intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) as well.

2022-04-19 16:26

President-elect, no time to lose!

Earlier this year in January, through this column, I made several foreign policy recommendations for the new government. I started the column with the caveat that the new government will face daunting foreign policy challenges from day one, given the grave security and economic risks surrounding Korea presently. That caveat turned out to be true, painfully so.

2022-03-15 16:50

Farewell, Gen. Singlaub!

Gen. John K. Singlaub passed away on Jan. 29 at the age of 100. For those of you who may not know him, Singlaub was a soldier of exceptional valor and commitment to his duties, who fought fascism in Europe during World War II and communism in the Korean and Vietnam wars before he retired from the U.S. Army with the rank of a Major General. Ironically, it was not so much for his valor and commitments, but the way he was sacked from the U.S. Army that made him “catapulted to the front page of the Washington Post” as a lengthy WP obituary described.

2022-02-15 16:39

Foreign policy recommendations for government

2022 is going to be a year of important elections in a large number of countries around the world. In Korea, we are going to have a presidential election in March, which is less than two months away.

2022-01-18 16:52

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