As 2018 draws to a close, U.S. President Donald Trump and his South Korean counterpart, Moon Jae-in, are sounding remarkably optimistic about the future of the Korean Peninsula, a marked contrast to the hostile rhetoric of potential “fire and fury” that reflected heightened tensions following a series of nuclear and missile tests by North Korea just one year ago. Most experts and analysts, however, are skeptical that the current approach will yield the positive outcomes the two leaders predict, noting that no concrete actions toward denuclearization, much less the process by which they might be taken, have been discussed with [...]
Japan’s relations with its neighbors have long been haunted by residual acrimony over atrocities and human rights abuses committed by the Empire of Japan during World War II. Politicians in China and South Korea maintain that Japan never properly atoned for its imperial transgressions, rankling Japanese officials. Those historical issues returned to center stage in recent weeks, due to a long-running case before the South Korean Supreme Court in which four Korean men sought damages from a major Japanese steelmaker that forced them to work without pay during World War II. On Oct. 30, the court ruled that the defendant, [...]
2018 has been the year of diplomacy for North Korea’s totalitarian government, with Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un meeting with the leaders of South Korea, China and the United States, in addition to reportedly planning a visit to Russia. But behind this charm offensive, the regime in Pyongyang is continuing to develop its cyber warfare capabilities and conduct espionage campaigns against a wide range of targets. In an interview with WPR, Adam Meyers, vice president of intelligence at the cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike, explains the motives and methods behind North Korea’s malign cyber activities and how the private sector is adapting [...]
