US-ROK Relations

• Koreans on US: Can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em? Also see RAND's report, Ambivalent Allies: A Study of South Korean Attitudes Toward the U.S.

• The U.S.A. will stop patrolling the Korean border's DMZ (demilitarized zone) very soon. Oxblog reports, and discusses both reactions in the region and U.S. strategic options.

• You've heard the mantra before, but here it is again -- a major U.S. military realignment in the region is in the works. See this post, too.

South Korea (ROK)

• Well, we've got the parliamentary elections coming up on April 15, and the pro-Roh Moo-hyun Uri Party is set to become the nation's majority party, although the conservative Grand National Party is recovering somewhat from the backlash it suffered following Roh's impeachment. The GNP's selection of Park Keun-hye -- late President (and military dictator) Park Chung-hee's daughter -- as party chairwoman has generally been well received, especially by voters in the party's traditional stronghold of Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province, while some very ill-advised statements by Uri Party chairman Chung Dong-young concerning elderly voters has caused his party problems, particularly in Korea's Confucian heartland of, well, Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province. Still, it looks like in the Seoul area, the Chungcheong provinces and Jeolla provinces, the Uri Party will do quite well for itself. This may or may not have a big impact on US-ROK relations and issues involving North Korea, depending on who you ask (and whose blog you read).

• With a general election coming up, there has been a lot going on in South Korea -- much of it interesting. If you want to get you're monthly, weekly, or daily fix of South Korean politics/social news, the relevant blogs you want to check out are Oranckay's Weblog, Flying Yangban, It Makes a Difference to the Sheep, Ruminations in Korea, Kamelian X-Rays, Seeing Eye Blog, The Rathbone Press, Cathartidae and Hunjangui karuch'im and The Marmot's Hole.

ROK and the War on Terror

• AP had a very interesting piece on the Korean military's "Little Iraq" training ground.

• A number of Korean nationals have been kidnapped in Iraq. First two aid workers were kidnapped by Shia militia in Nasiriyah on April 7. Then, on April 9, eight Korean missionaries were kidnapped but released later after they posed as doctors and gave their captors massages.

• The Polish ambassador to Korea tells the country "nowhere in Iraq is safe," but there's still good reasons for sending troops.

North Korea

• The North Korea Freedom Coalition has designated April 28 "North Korea Freedom Day."

• North Korea watcher Aidan Foster-Carter takes a look at the North Korean budget and doesn't like what he sees. Fascinating read.

• North Korea's reforms may be irreversible, says IIE economist Marcus Noland, but at the same time, they haven't been successful, and what's more, they may be destabilizing.

• North Korea isn't giving tourist visas to Americans. Bummer.

• North Korean Internet users may be chatting up a storm

• Bored? How about some North Korean TV?

North Korea: The International Stage

• Brent Choi wrote a very interesting essay for the Joongang Ilbo in which he argues for a "middle way" in dealing with North Korea.

• Rebecca MacKinnon asks if the North Korea's recent offer (perhaps) to trade its nuclear program for "appropriate corresponding measures" really means anything.

• The Asahi Shimbun talks about why Japan's sanctions might not be worth a hill of beans if South Korea and China continue their roaring trade with the DPRK.

• The Civil Network for a Peaceful Korea also discusses why the Bush Administration may not be applying the Libyan model to North Korea.

• The Civil Network for a Peaceful Korea (in OhMyNews) blames the United States discusses the "external factors" in North Korea's human rights situation. Uh huh.

• On a related note, we gove you the U.S. Group for the Study of Songun Politics. For some background on the group, check "More on the DPRK's supporters in the U.S" out at NKZone.