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News | 11.02.2012 |
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The death of Kim Jong Il two months before his 70th birthday grabbed the headlines worldwide. False reports of his death had been a recurrent phenomenon, but his passing, when it did happen, came unexpectedly. The communist leader's death possibly marks a watershed moment between distinct epochs in the history of the DPRK, prompting intense debates over the scenarios of the anticipated transition...
Alexander VORONTSOV | 25.12.2011 |
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The development of the energy plan to be implemented jointly by Russia and the Koreas reached a milestone during President Medvedev's talks with the DPRK leader Kim Jong-il in Ulan-Ude on August 24, 2011 and with the ROK President Lee Myung-bak in St. Petersburg on November 2, 2011, enabling the Korean leaders to announce the launch of a large-scale gas supply project... The talks with an economic agenda are to commence in a matter of days and to lead to the signing of a commercial contract by mid-2012...
Alexander VORONTSOV | 09.12.2011 |
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This year Russia, like China in the recent past, confirmed in practice its opposition to the isolation of the DPRK and to excessively broad interpretations of the UN Security Council's resolutions which authorize sanctions against the country to reign in its nuclear and missile programs. The view held in Russia is that, whatever the circumstances, sanctions should not hurt the civilian sector of the economy. This view, combined with Russia's own national interests aimed at integration into East Asia regional cooperation process, led Moscow to decisively reach out for North Korea…
Alexander VORONTSOV | 30.09.2011 |
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The recent visit of Kim Jong-il to Russia and his brief meeting with President Dmitri Medvedev in Ulan-Ude continue to stir interest in political circles... Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Pyongyang’s nuclear program, however it may affect the global non-proliferation regime, has been the only guarantee that North Korea won’t repeat the fate of many states, starting from Yugoslavia and ending with Libya which were chosen by West as targets…
Alexander VORONTSOV, Oleg REVENKO | 07.09.2011 |
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Creeping of instability and political revolts in the Arab East has given birth to expectations that the democratic wave will soon reach North Korea as well. Indeed: if there is no chance to change the political regime in the DPRK by using military force so why not to choose less risky and not so expensive way do it – for example by providing “assistance” to the North Korean people who are yearning for democracy?..
Alexander VORONTSOV, Oleg REVENKO | 29.04.2011 |
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Though geographically the revolution-ridden North Africa and North Eastern Asia are far from each other, many analysts draw parallels and even come up with forecasts about similar fates of the leaders of Jamahiriya and North Korea. The current events in Libya put the following question – Does a small country have the right to conduct its independent policy in the contemporary world, regardless of the approval of the global ruling class and without running a risk to be punished for that?..
Alexander VORONTSOV, Oleg REVENKO | 28.04.2011 |
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While the mainstream perception is that the conflicts between the Koreas stem from the North Korean “totalitarian” regime's maintaining a nuclear program and pursuing likewise risky policies, the crisis actually has much deeper roots... The lesson to be learned is that the egoistic and short-sighted policies on both sides contributed to the stalemate...
Alexander VORONTSOV, Oleg REVENKO | 21.02.2011 |
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Nobody is surprised with the uncertainty on the Korean peninsula, which still lacks proper conditions for normal relations between South and North Koreas. Lack of norms of co-existence and the dislike of Pyongyang and Seoul for each other leads to a gradual degradation of the situation and may find expression in the aggravation of military and political tension, which is getting more difficult to reduce...
Alexander VORONTSOV, Oleg REVENKO | 24.01.2011 |
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In the early 1990ies, Moscow's approach to the cooperation with Korea was loaded with unrealistic expectations... Hopes were running high that the engagement with Korea would boost the economic development of Russia's Far East if not that of the entire country... The mistake was to overlook the fact that Korea had interests of its own which did not necessarily coincide with those of Russia... Currently Seoul rather than Moscow is defining the character of the Russian-Korean relations...
Alexander VORONTSOV, Oleg REVENKO | 08.12.2010 |
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