The US election is being watched with trepidation in South Korea. Should President Joe Biden be re-elected, Seoul would likely see continuity in the relationship and a continued strong US-South Korea bilateral alliance. But a victory for Donald Trump is fraught with peril. He could throw the alliance into turmoil, try to make South Korea a front-line state in the US standoff with China, threaten overtures to North Korea, and demand South Korea increase defense cost-sharing and defense budget or face the withdrawal of US forces, writes Chung-in Moon. The situation is worrying for all sides of the political spectrum in Seoul.
Chung-in Moon
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Moon Chung-in: ‘Cynicism rears its head in the war in Ukraine’
In the end, all of the players involved will need to return to realism and prioritise a peaceful resolution. History teaches us that wars only truly end through diplomatic compromise. (more…)
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Remembering Hiroshima and Nagasaki (The Interpreter 5 August 2020)
Existing nuclear arms control deals are dead or dying, but that should not be an excuse to give up disarmament hopes.