https://www.scmp.com/rss/328653/feed Rob York is a Hawaii-based policy analyst. He earned his PhD in Korean history in 2023. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Rob York Rob York The need for the United States to start offloading some of its global responsibilities did not begin with Donald Trump. More than a decade ago, when working as a journalist and graduate student, I heard from political scientists and other observers of US foreign relations that allies would, at some point, need to rely less on Washington and start boosting their own defence budgets; this was particularly true of America’s European and East Asian allies, facing US adversaries in Russia and... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3352102/why-us-may-regret-pushing-allies-towards-greater-defence-autonomy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3352102/why-us-may-regret-pushing-allies-towards-greater-defence-autonomy?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 01 May 2026 12:30:08 +0000 Rob York Rob York A recent report by South Korea’s National Intelligence Service suggests Kim Jong-un has selected his daughter, Ju-ae (or possibly Ju-hae), to succeed him as North Korea’s supreme leader. This is not the first time analysts have had to consider if North Korea, supposedly the most traditionalist of communist states, could have a female leader, but it is the most definitive. In 2020, Kim spent three weeks out of the spotlight, including missing the April 15 birth celebration of his grandfather, Kim... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3344613/kim-jong-uns-daughter-may-well-become-north-koreas-first-female-leader?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3344613/kim-jong-uns-daughter-may-well-become-north-koreas-first-female-leader?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 03 Mar 2026 01:30:08 +0000 Rob York Rob York The US decision to raid Venezuela, detain its President Nicolas Maduro and bring him to the United States, ostensibly on drug trafficking charges, will have serious downstream effects, but of what variety? US President Donald Trump has already sent ominous warnings to other Latin American countries whose leaders oppose all or parts of his agenda – from Colombia to Cuba to Mexico – and threatened Maduro’s successor with similar, or worse, treatment if she does not cooperate. Does this suggest... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3338997/why-us-move-against-maduro-unlikely-drive-china-latin-america?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3338997/why-us-move-against-maduro-unlikely-drive-china-latin-america?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 08 Jan 2026 12:30:10 +0000 Rob York Rob York The new US national security strategy says a great deal about how the government imagines its foreign policy in the next few years but tells us just as much about communism and the US president’s view of it. Donald Trump has long had an unusual relationship with communism, in that he does not seem especially concerned by it. Yes, it’s true he does denounce “communists”, “socialists”, “radicals” and “the far left”, but he is rarely speaking about communist regimes opposed to US interests... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3336268/trump-only-communists-really-dislike-are-those-home?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3336268/trump-only-communists-really-dislike-are-those-home?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 17 Dec 2025 12:30:08 +0000 Rob York Rob York Based on his recent statements, it appears that US President Donald Trump’s position on Ukraine has evolved to match that of his predecessor. He now says shipments of weapons will continue and that Ukraine must be able to defend itself. He has expressed unhappiness with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and on Monday threatened 100 per cent tariffs on Russia and countries doing business with it if a Russia-Ukraine deal isn’t reached in 50 days. This may surprise some observers, especially... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3318020/trumps-team-waking-reality-rivalry-russia?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3318020/trumps-team-waking-reality-rivalry-russia?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 15 Jul 2025 12:30:08 +0000 Rob York Rob York Law enforcement agencies empowered by the government to carry out the agenda of an ageing president eager to settle political scores. Politicians, media and judges facing harassment and even arrest by forces loyal to the president. A ruling party in lockstep with its autocratic leader, unwilling to challenge him amid a combination of ideological factors but also careerism. Police forces dispatched with emergency powers into strongholds of the political opposition. Politicians associated with the... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3315171/political-violence-rises-us-only-americans-can-save-themselves?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3315171/political-violence-rises-us-only-americans-can-save-themselves?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 22 Jun 2025 12:30:07 +0000 US President Donald Trump’s first term changed the conversation on trade in the United States. Where the consensus had once been that open markets would eventually lead to even adversarial states like China and Russia adopting values like America’s, Trump’s first-term tariffs led to a recognition of their uses, and a deeper understanding of how adversarial states game the free-trade system. Tariffs do indeed lead to higher costs for consumers, but had Europe and the US strategically borne that... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3296488/trumps-tough-trade-tactics-risk-turning-world-away-america?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3296488/trumps-tough-trade-tactics-risk-turning-world-away-america?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 30 Jan 2025 12:30:09 +0000 America’s reputation has been bruised in many parts of the world due to its actions, from destabilising uncooperative governments, overruling the mandate of newly elected foreign leaders and, in extreme cases, invading other countries. In recent years, its position has improved somewhat, not so much by its own doing but by those of its competitors and adversaries, which have shown they are not above pressuring foreign leaders, threatening outright hostilities or, as with Russia’s invasion of... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3267283/no-good-reason-us-spread-anti-vax-rumours-philippines?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3267283/no-good-reason-us-spread-anti-vax-rumours-philippines?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 22 Jun 2024 21:30:07 +0000 America’s reputation has been bruised in many parts of the world due to its actions, from destabilising uncooperative governments, overruling the mandate of newly elected foreign leaders and, in extreme cases, invading other countries. In recent years, its position has improved somewhat, not so much by its own doing but by those of its competitors and adversaries, which have shown they are not above pressuring foreign leaders, threatening outright hostilities or, as with Russia’s invasion of... https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3267472/no-good-reason-us-spread-anti-vax-rumours-philippines?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3267472/no-good-reason-us-spread-anti-vax-rumours-philippines?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 21 Jun 2024 04:11:58 +0000 North Korea has no interest in talking to the United States. This is evident from the lack of any dialogue with Washington since Joe Biden became president and occasional statements from the Biden administration that Pyongyang is not responding to its overtures. That would be bad enough, except North Korea also has no interest in talking to South Korea. Many in the North Korea-watching commentariat have debated the meaning of Pyongyang’s recent statements that define South Korea as an enemy with... https://www.scmp.com/comment/world-opinion/article/3256232/defuse-tensions-north-korea-let-european-union-try?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/world-opinion/article/3256232/defuse-tensions-north-korea-let-european-union-try?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 27 Mar 2024 21:30:21 +0000 The 19th-century Austrian statesman and diplomat Klemens von Metternich is credited with the saying, “When Paris sneezes, Europe catches a cold.” This expression has, more recently, been applied to the United States and its implications expanded beyond Europe, to the entire world. The US’ economic and security decisions, including on trade and troop deployment, have, since the dawn of the post-war order, had implications beyond its borders. Unfortunately, this increasingly applies to its... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3221108/debt-ceiling-crisis-can-us-unable-put-its-financial-house-order-counter-china-overseas?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3221108/debt-ceiling-crisis-can-us-unable-put-its-financial-house-order-counter-china-overseas?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 21 May 2023 16:30:16 +0000 The international community is rightfully horrified by unfolding events in Afghanistan, but the outrage, as it often does, is quickly turning into exaggerated interpretation. Rather than focusing on the real tragedy of the event – the legions of Afghans who would like to escape Taliban rule and cannot because of a combination of Western xenophobia and poor planning – commentary, especially in the United States, has zeroed in on what it means for “our” credibility. Others that will allegedly... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3145325/why-taiwan-wont-be-next-afghanistan-despite-what-us-pundits-might?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3145325/why-taiwan-wont-be-next-afghanistan-despite-what-us-pundits-might?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 18 Aug 2021 17:30:11 +0000 The United States election results four years ago caused no shortage of consternation for those who believe strongly in a US-led liberal international order. That international order has certainly been stressed in recent years but has not crumbled in the wake of the Trump presidency. If we are being honest, there are a few ways in which the events of the past four years, both directly and indirectly due to the Trump administration, have ultimately benefited US-led international liberalism. Here... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3111367/contrary-trump-years-have-strengthened-us-led-international?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3111367/contrary-trump-years-have-strengthened-us-led-international?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 26 Nov 2020 20:15:09 +0000 I recently had the privilege of speaking at a webinar on disinformation during the Covid-19 pandemic, especially as carried out by authoritarian governments. A favourite tactic of theirs, I noted, is to deflect criticism from American sources using “whataboutism”. Experience shows that this tactic can be used to counter almost anything – from arbitrary arrests and torture, to mass incarceration of an ethnic minority – by arguing that the United States is not exactly blameless in any of these... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3093173/if-us-wants-be-human-rights-beacon-it-has-hold-itself-higher?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3093173/if-us-wants-be-human-rights-beacon-it-has-hold-itself-higher?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 15 Jul 2020 17:05:08 +0000 In late 2017, most of the North-Korea-watching community was worried. The US and North Korean leadership appeared locked in a high-stakes game of chicken, with neither willing to cede any ground over the North’s nuclear programme. Rumours swirled that limited strikes were being considered, that Americans would soon be called to leave the Korean peninsula and that the US considered it preferable for Japan and/or South Korea to suffer massive casualties rather than let Pyongyang perfect its... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3015774/trump-threatens-iran-where-are-hong-kong-style-mass-protests-us?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3015774/trump-threatens-iran-where-are-hong-kong-style-mass-protests-us?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 24 Jun 2019 19:00:06 +0000 What happened to North Korean officials in charge of diplomacy with the US? As frequently occurs with the opaque dealings of the North’s leadership, the signals have been mixed – especially common with reports coming from Seoul’s intelligence sources via the anti-communist wing of South Korea’s media. From what we can gather, Kim Yong-chol, vice-chairman of the central committee of the ruling Workers’ Party, survived the affair with his life and career intact despite reports of a purge. As for... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3013974/north-korea-doubles-down-its-nuclear-weapons-trump-and-us-are-stuck?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3013974/north-korea-doubles-down-its-nuclear-weapons-trump-and-us-are-stuck?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 11 Jun 2019 15:00:12 +0000 Politicians the world over make contradictory promises, but few have had their contradictions exposed as plainly as US President Donald Trump. From North Korea to Venezuela, Iran and now China, 2019 has been distinctly unkind to Trump’s promises from 2016. In the 2016 election, Trump capitalised on Americans’ frustrations with the US’ relative decline and Barack Obama’s more deliberate responses to foreign policy issues by promising he would make the US respected and, if necessary, feared... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/3011967/north-korea-iran-and-trade-war-china-rival-countries-have?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/3011967/north-korea-iran-and-trade-war-china-rival-countries-have?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 28 May 2019 15:00:09 +0000