https://www.scmp.com/rss/500806/feed Glyn Ford is the author of “Talking to North Korea”, which has been translated into Korean. He has visited the country nearly 50 times over the past 20 years. He was a member of the European Parliament (1984-2009) representing the British Labour Party. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com North Korea’s nuclear programme is a symptom of weakness, not strength. The reality is that it is comprehensively outspent, outgunned and out-resourced by the South. Seoul’s military budget dwarfs Pyongyang’s by at least a factor of 11. Bundle together Washington, Tokyo and Seoul and it’s more than 250 times. South Korea’s 10.33 per cent increase in its 2021 military budget exceeded the North’s annual military expenditure. And President Yoon Suk-yeol has plans for South Korea to be the world’s... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3250319/pyongyang-war-footing-us-must-quickly-defuse-nuclear-flashpoints?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3250319/pyongyang-war-footing-us-must-quickly-defuse-nuclear-flashpoints?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 31 Jan 2024 21:30:12 +0000 North Korea Journal by Michael Palin Hutchinson/Random House 3.5 stars With his new book North Korea Journal, former Monty Python star Michael Palin aims to do for Pyongyang what his comedy troupe’s film The Life of Brian did for the New Testament. He almost succeeds. Palin got the VIP tour, spending 12 days travelling the country by train, car and private plane. He and his film crew come in by train from Beijing and tour Pyongyang’s revolutionary sites, the Juche Tower and Revolutionary Martyrs... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3039379/north-korea-journal-michael-palin-looks-back-orchestrated?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3039379/north-korea-journal-michael-palin-looks-back-orchestrated?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 26 Nov 2019 15:30:09 +0000 Despite Pyongyang’s recent provocative missile launches, Washington’s public line is that little has changed since the Hanoi summit: it is a question of time before Pyongyang sees sense and comes back to the table. The US seems oblivious to the possibility that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un might abandon the process, or that his statement that the US has until end of the year to change its approach could be a real cut-off point. While the missile tests do not violate Kim’s April 2018 ordinance... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/3010062/third-us-north-korea-summit-last-best-chance-resolving?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/3010062/third-us-north-korea-summit-last-best-chance-resolving?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 14 May 2019 18:00:04 +0000