AUTHOR'S BIO

Byung-joon Ahn

Byung-joon Ahn is Visiting Professor of international relations at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies, Tokyo, Japan, and a Member of South Korea's National Academy of Sciences.

RECENT COMMENTARIES

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America's Retreat from Asia

Byung-joon Ahn Series: The Asian Century

2004-08-19

The United States' planned withdrawal of troops from Asia, which President George W. Bush announced on August 16, need not harm peace and stability in the region and particularly in Korea. But a key condition for a smooth redeployment of US troops is close consultations by America with its allies, something it has not done well up to now.... read

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China Must Do More than Mediate

Byung-joon Ahn Series: The Asian Century

2003-10-21

Despair is dangerous in diplomacy. But North Korea's latest actions are making much of Asia hopeless. Only China, long reluctant to flex its diplomatic muscles, now has the power to find a diplomatic solution to the North Korean nuclear problem. But the question everyone from Tokyo to Seoul and from Washington to Moscow is asking is this: will China act in time? ... read

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South Korea's Dangerous New Dawn

Byung-joon Ahn Series: The World in Words

2002-12-30

North Korea's decision to expel UN atomic energy inspectors is but another reason to view Roh Moo Hyun's election as South Korea's president two weeks ago as an historical watershed. The beginning of his term not only coincides with one of the most dangerous episodes on the Korean peninsula in decades, but his presidency will also test South Korea's relations with the US to a degree that has not been seen for many years. ... read

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Sinking the Sunshine Policy

Byung-joon Ahn Series: The Asian Century

2002-07-03

Last week's naval battle between North and South Korean warships sank more than a South Korean frigate. It also probably sank the "Sunshine Policy" of rapprochement with North Korea that once appeared to be the crowning achievement of Kim Dae Jung's presidency in South Korea. ... read

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Building on the Kim/Kim Summit

Byung-joon Ahn Series: The World in Words

2000-06-16

PYONGYANG: Is the Cold War's last glacier beginning to melt? The summit between South Korean President Kim Dae Jung and North Korea's "Dear Leader" Kim Jong Il raised hopes on both sides of the Korean peninsula that 55 years of hot and cold war may diminish. Because Korea remains the world's most heavily armed flash point and with the risk of nuclear weapons and missile proliferation still high in North Korea, the whole world may benefit from a loosening of tensions. For that to happen, however, more than the two Korean governments must act imaginatively and responsibly. ... read

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Korea Emerges from Crisis

Byung-joon Ahn Series: The World in Words

1999-05-25

SEOUL: Last year saw the worst of times in South Korea since the end of the Korean War, with Asia's crisis bringing a devastating 33.8% drop in per capita GDP, from $10,307 to $6,823 and mass starvation in North Korea threatening stability on the peninsula. Times of crisis, however, like the approach of an execution, concentrate the mind. South Korea has focused on systemic reform and, today, despite labour unrest the signs of economic recovery abound and political prospects are brightening, too. Even relations with the North may be slightly more predictable. ... read

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Korea's Economy Remains a Prisoner of Korean Politics

Sir Alan Walters and Byung-joon Ahn Series: The World in Words

1997-12-30

SEOUL: Despite World Bank emergency grants and IMF rescue funding of $57 billion, Korea's economy, the world's 11th largest, remains on the brink of collapse. If a debt moratorium or default can be avoided, however, Korea's state-led capitalism may yet be transformed into something like market-led capitalism, one more competitive in -- and open to -- global markets. ... read

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