My name is Bruce Klingner. I am Senior Research Fellow for Northeast Asia at The Heritage Foundation. The views I express in this testimony are my own, and should not be construed as representing any official position of The Heritage Foundation. It has been said that the…
Senate Armed Services Committee chairman Carl Levin (D–MI), ranking member John McCain (R–AZ), and Senator Jim Webb (D–VA) have called on the United States to overhaul two complex military realignment agreements with South Korea and Japan. Their proposals would undermine years of carefully crafted diplomacy that achieved U.S. strategic objectives…
The global financial crisis has had a major impact on perceptions of American power and its relationships in Asia. Many of the perceptions are not founded on facts. Among the facts often overlooked: American companies invest far more abroad than does…
North Korea has established an independent military division responsible for controlling and deploying its intermediate-range ballistic missiles (IRBMs).[1] Known as the Musudan,[2] these IRBMs are a strategic-level asset controlled by the senior leadership. Little is known about the missile, but U.S. assessments…
Sixty-four years ago this week, the Japanese formally surrendered to Allied forces on the USS Missouri, ending World War II. Thus began a long era in U.S.-Japanese relations characterized by a shared strategic vision and broad cooperation on security. That era may be over. This past weekend's elections ended five decades of dominance by the…
The rumbling you heard across the Pacific Ocean over the weekend was Japan moving further from the United States -- and closer to China. Japan's left-of-center opposition party, which has long spouted anti-capitalist and anti-US rhetoric, won a landslide victory in Sunday's election. The Democratic Party of Japan wound up with 308 seats in…
Japan's opposition Democratic Party of Japan fulfilled predictions by winning a landslide victory over the moribund ruling party. The change in government is historic: It is only the second time in 50 years that the Liberal Democratic Party has been out of power. A disgruntled and angry electorate threw the LDP out of office for…
Militarily, China has not been well-known for its navy. The Army has long been the dominant service in the People's Republic of China (PRC), a country celebrating the 60th anniversary of its founding by Mao Zedong in 1949. In fact, despite being known as the "Great Helmsman," Mao was so focused on the Army…
The Obama administration is reacting to the anticipated launch of another North Korean long-range ballistic missile, expected to fly over the Pacific toward Hawaii sometime soon, by putting missile defense on alert. That's a big change from last time. Back in April, in advance of North Korea's last missile test, the administration pretty much pooh-poohed…
The Bush Administration announced on October 11 that it had removed North Korea from the state sponsors of terrorism list in return for Pyongyang's acceptance of a six-party talks verification protocol. Details of the verification agreement have not been disclosed pending formal approval at a heads of delegation meeting. The State Department claims that all…
Prepared Statement by John J. Tkacik, Jr., Research Fellow in China Policy at The Heritage Foundation …
U.S. and South Korean negotiators have struck a landmark trade deal in the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (KORUS FTA). If ratified, the agreement will provide American workers and businesses with new opportunities and serve as a powerful statement of the U.S. commitment to East Asia. But although the deal would eliminate more than 90 percent…
A major American ally is in trouble. A massive scandal involving a Chinese telecommunications company has driven politics in the Philippines off the rails. As the Philippines seeks to address the scandal, the United States should help it avert what has the potential to become a major constitutional crisis. …
Rumors that Kim Jong-il suffered a stroke have triggered concerns over the ramifications of instability and regime change in North Korea, particularly in regards to that nation's arsenal of nuclear weapons. Over the years, there have been scores of rumors regarding Kim, including illness, incapacitation, coup, assassination, and even death. Subsequently, jaded Korea watchers view such…
A loss by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in the July 29 House of Councilor (upper house) election could cause Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to resign after only nine months in office. An outraged electorate is holding Abe and the LDP responsible after revelations that the government lost millions of pension records, throwing the…
As March 31 approaches, Japan faces critical decisions regarding the future of its economy. This deadline, which marks the end of the financial year, is crucial because Japanese banks must account for their assets and performance, which may fail to meet investors' expectations. The fear is that a loss of confidence in…
Barely four months after exploding a nuclear weapon, North Korea has again foiled attempts to penalize it for violating international commitments. Kim Jong-il used his characteristic mixture of military provocations, brinksmanship, and crisis diplomacy to gain benefits for a return to the status quo ante and promises of future steps. The Beijing Agreement, announced on February…
On July 12, the six-party talks nations agreed on July 12 to broad measures for verifying North Korea's pledge to abandon its nuclear weapons programs. The joint communiqué was typically bereft of substantive details, which were deferred to a working group for resolution. North Korea did agree to verification measures that included "visits to facilities,…
Pyongyang's June 26 delivery of a data declaration regarding its nuclear weapons programs and the anticipated destruction of the cooling tower at the Yongbyon nuclear reactor represent commendable progress toward North Korean denuclearization. Similarly, North Korea's earlier delivery of approximately 19,000 pages of Yongbyon's operating records provided a trove of information for the U.S. Intelligence Community…
The U.S. intelligence community's revelation that North Korea was helping Syria to build a nuclear reactor "not intended for peaceful purposes"[1] after seven months of Bush Administration stonewalling will be a serious body blow to the Six-Party Talks. The intelligence disclosure, coming so soon after strenuous congressional and interagency objections to…
Legislation pending in Congress to facilitate foreign military sales to South Korea would enhance the security of a key U.S. ally and strengthen the bilateral military relationship. The U.S.-Republic of Korea Defense Cooperation Improvement Act of 2008 (H.R. 5443/S.1846)[1] would grant the same preferential treatment for foreign military sales to South…
President Obama’s much-vaunted “Asia Pivot” provides a much-needed emphasis on a region that is critical to U.S....…
Senior Research Fellow, Northeast Asia