I was interviewed yesterday for Arirang News’ “On Point” segment on its morning news program, “New Day,” and discussed the Korean Workers’ Party Central Committee plenum, which was part-way through its annual end-of-year session. I also address recent unhelpful statements by the ROK that added fuel to the North’s bellicose rhetoric and needlessly increase tensions. We also discussed that Kim Jong Un will turn 40 next month and has now been in office for 12 years. Many thanks to anchor Kim Da Mi for her questions.

Here is the full interview:

Photo at top: Kim Jong-un attends the second-day session of a year-end plenary meeting of the Central Committee of the Korean Workers’ Party in Pyongyang on Dec. 27, 2023.

I was interviewed yesterday for Arirang News’ “On Point” segment on its morning program, “New Day.” I discussed the trilateral meeting of the national security advisors of the U.S., ROK and Japan held in Seoul on Saturday. We also discussed White House Asia czar Kurt Campbell’s comments on North Korea during his Senate testimony, and whether Kim Jong Un’s daughter, Ju-ae, is being groomed for succession. Many thanks to anchor Kim Da Mi for her questions.

Here is the full interview:

Photo at top: White House Indo-Pacific policy advisor, Kurt Campbell, testifying before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee at a hearing on his nomination to become Deputy Secretary of State, Dec. 7, 2023. Below are Campbell’s remarks on North Korea during the Q&A session:

I was interviewed today on Arirang News’ flagship “Within the Frame” public affairs newscast, along with Dr. Go Myong-hyun of The Asan Institute, to discuss North Korea’s first successful military satellite launch and the breakdown of the Sept. 2018 inter-Korean military agreement, both of which have raised regional tensions. Many thanks to host Kim Bo-kyoung for her questions.

Here is the full interview:

Photo at top: Kim Jong-un and daughter Ju-Ae attend a banquet in Pyongyang last week to celebrate the launch of the Malligyong-1 spy satellite.

I was interviewed today on Arirang News’ “Within the Frame” public affairs newscast, along with Dr. Go Myong-hyun of The Asan Institute, to discuss last week’s visit to Pyongyang by Russian foreign minister Lavrov, the possibility of President Putin visiting North Korea, and the impact of the Israel-Gaza crisis on the Korean Peninsula. Many thanks to host Kim Bo-kyoung for her questions.

Here is the full interview:

Photo at top: Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol in Riyadh on Oct. 22, 2023.

I was interviewed today for Arirang News’s “On Point” segment on its morning news program, “New Day.” Questions related to the overall impact of Hamas’s devastating attack on Israel for the Korean Peninsula, as well as evaluating the wisdom and likely impact on security and stability if South Korea unilaterally suspended or abrogated its 2018 Comprehensive Military Agreement with the North. Many thanks to anchor Kim Da Mi for her questions.

My Sept. 20 interview on “Within the Frame.” Many thanks to anchor Kim Bo-kyoung for her questions:

My Sept. 21 comments on President Yoon’s visit to the UN in New York on “New Day,” broadcast Sept. 25. Many thanks to Presidential Office correspondent Oh Sooyoung for her questions:

Photo at top:  Kim Jong Un with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, visits an airport to see military aircraft near Vladivostok in the Russian Far East, on  Sept. 16, 2023. 

I was interviewed Wednesday on Arirang News’ “Within the Frame” public affairs newscast, along with Dr. Go Myong-hyun of The Asan Institute, to discuss North Korea’s second failed satellite launch and its apparent re-opening of its borders. Many thanks to host Kim Bo-kyoung for her questions.

In retrospect, when asked if North Korean defectors caught in China may soon be forcibly repatriated (which has not happened since early 2020 due to the North’s pandemic border closures), and if there was a way to prevent that from happening, I should not have assumed all viewers were familiar with this issue.

Although repatriating North Korean escapees to China back to the North has been a long-standing Chinese policy, I should have clearly deplored it, and emphasized that unfortunately even United Nations human rights agencies have long been unable to persuade China to change its policy. I hinted this is part of a larger bargain between China and North Korea. But this policy is no less a human rights issue than China’s harsh treatment of its own citizens in Xinjiang.

Only far stronger international pressure might influence China to change its policy on repatriating North Korean escapees, especially hitting China where it hurts — e.g., sanctioning major Chinese banks that assist North Korea in circumventing existing United Nations sanctions. China’s violations of international law regarding North Korean refugees should be linked to rigorous enforcement of sanctions on China.

Here is my full interview:

Photo at top: North Korean defectors rush into the Japanese Consulate General in Shenyang, China, in May 2002

I was interviewed at length by Arirang News yesterday during the ground-breaking Camp David Trilateral Summit between the U.S., South Korea and Japan. The questions start about 15 minutes in, and more questions are asked after the joint press conference concludes. I was joined by Dr. Eric S. Kim, Adjunct Professor of International Studies, Hanyang University. We were preceded by Oh Sooyoung, Presidential Office Correspondent, Arirang News, and Jessica Stone, Washington Correspondent, Voice of America. Many thanks to anchor Kim Da Mi for inviting us and for her maintaining her line of questions in a rapidly developing news environment.

Link to my full 2012 article on the 1945 division of Korea (78 years ago).