https://www.scmp.com/rss/523071/feed The latest news and top stories on Park Won-gon, a professor at the Department of North Korean Studies and Director of the Institute for Unification Studies at Ewha Womans University. He also chairs the East Asia Institute’s North Korea Studies Centre. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Park Chan-kyong Park Chan-kyong South Korea is unlikely to rush into joining a US-led military effort to secure the Strait of Hormuz, officials and analysts have said, after President Donald Trump urged other nations to send ships to the strategic waterway. Seoul is expected to seek parliamentary consensus before making any decision and is waiting for the outcome of a summit on Thursday between Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, as well as a formal request through diplomatic channels. A key US ally, South Korea... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3346756/south-korea-catch-22-situation-over-trumps-call-warships-secure-hormuz?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3346756/south-korea-catch-22-situation-over-trumps-call-warships-secure-hormuz?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 17 Mar 2026 00:00:11 +0000 Park Chan-kyong Park Chan-kyong A missile test by North Korea in the aftermath of the US capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro signals what analysts have said is Pyongyang’s cautionary stance over the vulnerability of countries without credible military and nuclear deterrence. While overseeing the launch of multiple missiles on Sunday, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un alluded to the US attacks on Venezuela and Maduro’s arrest a day earlier and Iran in June as justifications to bolster his nuclear arsenal. The test of what... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3338745/north-koreas-missile-test-after-maduros-arrest-signals-denuclearisation-equals-suicide?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3338745/north-koreas-missile-test-after-maduros-arrest-signals-denuclearisation-equals-suicide?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 05 Jan 2026 06:37:19 +0000 Seong Hyeon Choi Seong Hyeon Choi North Korea’s recent military parade, which featured an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of striking the continental United States, suggested that China had “tacitly accepted” Pyongyang as a nuclear state, analysts said. The October 10 parade commemorating the 80th anniversary of the founding of the Workers’ Party of Korea was attended by Li Qiang – the first Chinese premier to visit the country in 16 years. It featured several advanced weapons systems, including tanks, artillery and... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3329525/north-korea-pushing-china-more-openly-accept-its-status-nuclear-power?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3329525/north-korea-pushing-china-more-openly-accept-its-status-nuclear-power?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 18 Oct 2025 12:00:08 +0000 Seong Hyeon Choi Seong Hyeon Choi In a break from past practice, the United States did not send an aircraft carrier to its military drill with treaty allies Japan and South Korea last week. Some analysts said this suggested that the US was playing down the exercise to boost its dealings with China and North Korea. Others highlighted the Trump administration’s insistence on greater contributions from Asian allies in its strategy to contain China within the strategically crucial first island chain. The trilateral multi-domain... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3326285/us-held-major-military-drill-minus-aircraft-carrier-what-does-it-mean-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3326285/us-held-major-military-drill-minus-aircraft-carrier-what-does-it-mean-china?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 21 Sep 2025 12:00:11 +0000 Park Chan-kyong Park Chan-kyong The daughter of North Korean ruler Kim Jong-un could present a softer image for Pyongyang, away from her father’s sabre-rattling reputation as he continues to hint at his choice of successor by placing her under the glare of the world’s media. As Kim Ju-ae flanked her father at China’s Victory Day events on Wednesday, observers have drawn parallels to the precedent set by her paternal grandfather Kim Jong-il, who accompanied his own father – North Korea’s founding leader Kim Il-sung – on... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3324230/why-daughter-north-koreas-kim-jong-un-has-inched-closer-becoming-next-ruler?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3324230/why-daughter-north-koreas-kim-jong-un-has-inched-closer-becoming-next-ruler?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 04 Sep 2025 01:30:24 +0000 Park Chan-kyong Park Chan-kyong The Korean peninsula has once again become a fulcrum of global anxiety, as South Korea grapples with intensifying pressure from its US ally to take sides in Washington’s deepening rivalry with China, all while North Korea rattles its sabres on Seoul’s doorstep. Analysts warn that Seoul must tread this delicate geopolitical tightrope with unequalled agility to avoid being drawn into a major-power confrontation. “As tensions escalate between superpowers, South Korea must retain strategic... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3320497/shrimp-among-whales-south-korea-faces-us-vs-china-dilemma?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3320497/shrimp-among-whales-south-korea-faces-us-vs-china-dilemma?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 03 Aug 2025 00:00:15 +0000