BU Now » South Korea

New N. Korean nuclear enrichment facility surprises S. Korea

Jo Breiner — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 19:02:47 +0000

The South Korean government was apparently caught by surprise when it was revealed that North Korea had built a uranium enrichment site near their main nuclear facility. International Relations professor William Keylor offers the following comment:

“The key intelligence challenge will be to discover how the North Korean government succeeded in what seems to be another important step toward becoming a serious threat to the security of North Asia.”

For additional commentary, contact William Keylor, 617-358-0197, wrkeylor@bu.edu

N.Koreans meet with UN Command

Dick Taffe — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 17:15:41 +0000

For the first time since the sinking of a South Korean warship in March, which Seoul blames on the North, officials from North Korea met with the American-led United Nations Command which enforces the armistice that ended the Korean War. International relations Professor William Keylor, author of “A World of Nations: The International Order Since 1945,” said the whole affair has a back-to-the-future flavor to it, with face-to-face metings in Panmunjon 60 years after the Korean armistice and U.S. gunboat diplomacy 112 years after the Spanish-American War.

“What an engaging exercise in nostalgia for a bygone era, and a welcome distraction from the economic problems we face — unless the outcome is a new war on the Korean peninsula.”

Contact William Keylor, 617-358-0197, wrkeylor@bu.edu

North v. South Korea tensions mount

Dick Taffe — Wed, 26 May 2010 20:46:44 +0000

With military and political tensions increasing daily on the Korean Peninsula, Secretary of State Clinton says America will stand by South Korea as it seeks UN action to redress North Korea’s apparent sinking of South Korean warship. International relations Professor Thomas Berger, a specialist on government and political culture in East Asia, says today’s situation has “disturbing parallels” to the 1930s when economic turmoil and political weakness let to events that resulted in World War II.

“The international community is faced with a series of unfortunate events, any one of which by themselves could be managed, but which taken together could prove catastrophic … We can only hope that the international community – including the United States – shows greater wisdom this time around.”

Contact Thomas Berger, 617-353-5351, tuberger@bu.edu

North/South Korea standoff

Dick Taffe — Thu, 20 May 2010 21:42:05 +0000

South Korea’s president says his country will take “resolute countermeasures” against neighboring North Korea for what an international investigation has found to be overwhelming evidence that a South Korean warship was sunk two months ago by a torpedo made in North Korea fired by a North Korean submarine. International relations Professor William Keylor, author of “A World of Nations: The International Order Since 1945,” says now is the time for the international community to make sure nothing rash happens next.

“Let’s hope cooler heads prevail in Seoul before we hear the cry ‘Remember the Cheonan!’ and witness the outbreak of another Korean War sixty years after the last one.”

Contact William Keylor, 617-358-0197, wrkeylor@bu.edu