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North Korea’s Rocket “Miracle”
Something momentous happened with North Korea’s space program on December 12, 2012: An Unha-3 (“Milky Way-3”) rocket successfully launched a Kwanmenson-3 (“Bright Star-3”) artificial earth satellite...
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Japan: Prime Minister Abe’s Travel Plans
The first foreign visits by a new Japanese prime minister usually attract a great deal of attention, even if they are ceremonial or symbolic in nature. Analysts and journalists attempt to “extract”...
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Expect a Third Test...
A third nuclear test is one of the issues that pops up from time to time in the press that writes about the situation on the Korean peninsula. Nuclear testing is usually seen as a foreign policy move...
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Changes of Government in the Leading Asia-Pacific Countries: How Will They...
Three key players in the Asia-Pacific region underwent a change of government in late 2012 and early 2013 — the United States, China and Japan. What will that mean for this region that is increasingly...
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Japan v China: Friction Intensifies
Recently, Tokyo made a formal statement that it was determined to fire warning shots against the Chinese aircraft caught flying over the contentious Senkaku (on Japanese maps)/Diaoyu (on Chinese maps)...
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Taming the Shrew...
The saga surrounding North Korea’s missile and nuclear programs just goes on and on. It is one of the central issues of contemporary international politics. Almost two months have passed since...
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What Will Abe Take with Him to Washington?
As Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s scheduled February 20-21 visit to Washington draws closer, analysts and journalists are growing more and more interested in the agenda. Abe originally set the tone for...
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Japan-North Korea: The “Korea” Factor Versus the “Nuclear” Factor
North Korea’s latest nuclear test produced the expected outburst of official indignation in Japan, although the media waxed less hysterical than it does with rocket launches. That’s understandable: The...
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Earth Tremors
Despite everything, North Korea carried out a nuclear test on February 12. Technical data were not the only thing it provided, and North Korean engineers were not the only recipients. This new test...
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Japan: Prime Minister Abe Steps on a Korean Rake
One of the first official statements by Shinzo Abe’s Japanese government, which formed in late December, caught analysts by surprise. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said that his new...
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Crucial Problems and Issues Facing Geopolitics in 2013. Part I
The advent of the New Year always gives rise to summing up the results associated with the elapsed yearly cycle of geopolitical history and forecasting the processes that are most likely to develop...
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Crucial Problems and Issues Facing Geopolitics in 2013. Part 2
Last year, the most turbulent military and political processes convulsed the Middle East and Africa. The Arab Spring events of 2010-2012 only added fuel to the flame, creating an atmosphere of general...
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Crucial Problems and Issues Facing Geopolitics in 2013. Part 3
In the Middle East, the key geopolitical factors relevant for a long-term perspective have been two issues of paramount importance. The first is the prospect of strategic survival of Iran, its...
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The Japan-US Summit: Did They Agree to Differ?
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe made his first visit to Washington and met with US President Barack Obama from February 21-24. The two leaders’ speeches contained the obligatory words about an...
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The Problem with the New UN Sanctions against North Korea
A new round of sanctions has been imposed on North Korea, and an answer has been found to the question, “What more can they ban?” The sanctions affect North Korean diplomats, who must henceforth be...
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The Situation on the Korean Peninsula. Part 1
Let us consider how the parties view each other and how well they understand their opponent. An iron curtain works in both directions, giving a distorted impression about what is on the other side....
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The Situation on the Korean Peninsula. Part 3
My previous articles make it clear that without a third force to serve as a moderator to translate ideas and push for a consensus, relations between North Korea and the United States will continue...
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The Situation on the Korean Peninsula. Part 2
North Korea has blinders on, too, and its experts on the West (in the broad sense of the term) do not necessarily understand things about it that seem obvious to us. They are governed by an eccentric...
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China’s Leader Visits Russia
Chinese President Xi Jinping was in Russia on a state visit from March 22-24, 2013 at Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invitation. The visit was a geopolitical phenomenon that is strongly affecting...
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Possible Developments on the Korean Peninsula
Things are heating up again on the Korean Peninsula. North Korea has put its long-range artillery and strategic rocket forces targeted at US military bases on alert: “From this moment, the Supreme...
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