North Korea Accord Is a Model for Iranian Crisis

As the Soviet Union collapsed and China shifted to the market, it was said that communism was nothing more than the longest road between capitalism and capitalism. It now looks like the Bush‐era neo‐conservatism is similarly a long road back to the realism from whence it departed. The US is now talking with North Korea and Iran instead of preempting them through war. A dissident Iranian scientist, the former top UN arms inspector and a former US secretary of state ponder this state of affairs.     

Trump Is The Right Leader To Achieve Peace With North Korea

If he treads carefully and follows these steps, he may be the US president to turn the tables on this conflict.     

President Trump,There Is A Deal To Be Made With North Korea

North Korea might agree to a nuclear deal in return for economic concessions from South Korea and security assurances from the US     

North Korea Will Disarm in Two Years

"A promise to five powers — especially since China is involved — is more likely to be kept than a promise to one. At the end of the day, the North Koreans will come around and disarm. I believe they will agree to disarm within two years. Their economy is so weak they can't hold out much longer."     

朝鲜能否全面推行家庭承包制?

朝鲜从2004年春季开始在首都附近的部分合作农场借鉴中国的经验,试行家庭承包制。朝鲜能否全面推行这一新的制度,成为人们关注的一个重要问题。本文以当今社会主义国家改革的基本经验为参照,分析朝鲜实行家庭承包制所面临的有利条件和不利因素,并对能否全面推行这一新的农业生产方式的先决条件作了一些探讨。     

Trump's North Korea Bluster Has Shattered US Standing As Global Leader

The more stridently Trump says he is going to stop North Korea, the worse it looks when he fails, and the more Beijing stands to gain.     

朝鲜问题对日本核政策的影响

朝鲜核问题使奉行无核三原则的日本的不安全感增加。悬而未决的绑架日本人问题和朝鲜核问题的长期化，加深了日本对于朝鲜的威胁认知。在日本如何重新界定美日同盟，对美国提供的核保护伞是否有信心，以及究竟从何种视角界定日本的国家利益等问题上，朝核问题都成为一个重要因素。在对朝鲜威胁的认知下，日本的核武装论不断升级。核武装论已经不再是日本的政策讨论禁区，日本核政策面临考验。     

Social enterprise and work integration of North Korean migrants in South Korea

This contribution aims to present the general issue of integrating North Korean (NK) migrants living in South Korea into jobs and society, the main characteristics of the social enterprise scheme set up in South Korea, and a few examples of social enterprises engaged in NKs migrants’ work integration. It stresses that the process of integrating NK migrants through the social enterprise model leads to apprehend this question, not in the traditional framework of policies specific to NK migrants, but in a broader framework to address a more comprehensive issue of the integration of vulnerable populations. This is an orientation that breaks with the previous public-policy framework towards NK migrants without real counterpart benefits. This approach also supplements governmental policies that have been developed since 2005 to encourage NK migrants to engage in skills training and support programmes in employment coaching. By adding case studies that assess the effectiveness of NK migrants’ work integration based on the criteria of job creation, job skills enhancement, and normal job sustenance, this study examines whether the European-originated work integration social enterprise model works for a particular social enterprise type benefiting NK migrants in South Korea.     

Effect of Parental Migration on the Academic Performance of Left Behind Children in North Western China

China’s rapid urbanisation has induced large numbers of rural residents to migrate from their homes in the countryside to urban areas in search of higher wages. As a consequence, it is estimated that more than 60 million children in rural China are left behind and live with relatives, typically their paternal grandparents. These children are called Left Behind Children (LBCs). There are concerns about the potential negative effects of parental migration on the academic performance of the LBCs that could be due to the absence of parental care. However, it might also be that when a child’s parents work away from home, their remittances can increase the household’s income and provide more resources and that this can lead to better academic performance. Hence, the net impact of out-migration on the academic performance of LBCs is unclear. This paper examines changes in academic performance before and after the parents of students out-migrate. We draw on a panel dataset collected by the authors of more than 13,000 students at 130 rural primary schools in ethnic minority areas of rural China. Using difference-in-differences and propensity score matching approaches, our results indicate that parental migration has significant, positive impacts on the academic performance of LBCs (which we measure using standardised English test scores). Heterogeneous analysis using our data demonstrates that the positive impact on LBCs is greater for poorer performing students.     

Obama: The First Mestizo Leader North of the Border

America is more a creed than a nation. Our promise has always been that all individuals, despite race, religion or gender, have the equal chance to make it. The election of Barack Hussein Obama as president of the United States is thus a “soft power” coup for America's global image, which had lost its luster during the Bush years. Obama is the anti‐Bush who will lead by the power of example instead of the example of power. Yet, there are real limits. Can the power of example stop the North Korean or Iranian nuclear programs? Can it stop jihadists bent on establishing a new Caliphate across South Asia? Can it limit China's ambitions as the new power in Asia? In this section commentators from across the world offer their views.