By Jude Woodward
Once again tensions between the US and North Korea over the latter’s nuclear programme have reached a dangerous boiling point, as North Korea carried out its largest-ever nuclear test in early September.
The following article by Jude Woodward, about South Korea’s election on 9 May, was originally published by New Cold War.org.
A significant initial impact of the crisis that Trump has whipped up over North Korea was to push security issues up the agenda in South Korean politics, aiding the US in speeding up the deployment of Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) and boosting the poll ratings of the more pro-US candidate in the Presidential elections due on May. But Trump’s more recent statements about this key US Northeast Asian ally have been so casually insulting that they have led to an upsurge in anti-US sentiment as the elections draw closer.
The following article by Jude Woodward, about the crisis the US has whipped up about North Korea, was originally published by New Cold War.org.
Trump’s dramatic escalation of sabre-rattling over North Korea from mid-April was not triggered by any new provocative action by North Korea nor any notable advance in its nuclear or missile programme, although in the din of overwrought rhetoric emanating from Mar-a-lago it appeared that the US and North Korea’s neighbours faced an imminent threat. But this crisis was conveniently timed to influence the outcome of the South Korean presidential elections due on 9th May.
The following article by John Ross, setting out that China has produced the greatest economic achievement in human history, was previously published by Socialist Economic Bulletin.
China’s recently concluded “two sessions,” the National People’s Congress and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, reaffirmed China’s strategic medium term goal to create a “moderately prosperous society in all respects” by 2020. But “moderately prosperous” is a specifically Chinese term. To give a clearer idea internationally of what achieving this would mean, it is enlightening to give a global comparison for China’s goal of “moderate prosperity.”
The following article by John Ross, examining the significance of Xi Jinping’s participation in the Davos World Economic Forum, was previously published by Socialist Economic Bulletin.
Xi Jinping is the first Chinese president to speak at the Davos World Economic Forum. This visit has attracted even greater international media attention than the normally high levels of interest in a trip by China’s leader. As the Financial Times chief foreign affairs columnist Gideon Rachman put it, “The big star of this year’s forum is certain to be Xi Jinping.”
By Jude Woodward
The US foreign policy establishment is reeling after its strategy to reassert itself in Asia and contain the rise of China received a hammering from an unexpected quarter – its long-term ally, former colony and reliable stooge, the Philippines.
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