Jung Hwa Song

Articles

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Fool Me Once: Making Sense of North Korea’s Mixed Signals

On March 17, 2009, Current TV journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee, accompanied by another Current TV employee and an unnamed local guide, allegedly traversed the frozen Tumen River from the Chinese side and crossed into North Korean territory. Border guards snatched Ling and Lee, but the cameraman and guide managed to escape. After a 3-day trial in the highest North Korean court, the women were sentenced to 12 years of hard labor in a work camp for “illegal entry” and “hostility to the North Korean nation.”

August 18, 2009
Jung Hwa Song
War and Peace - August 2009

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China's Slow Growth Challenge

China has not been immune to the global economic downturn, but an influential report by the World Economic Forum now proclaims that China’s economic downturn may pose one of the biggest threats to the crippled world economy. China now boasts the third largest economy in the world but is suddenly suffering from its lowest economic growth rates after five straight years of heated economic growth. Its leaders worry that the sudden economic downturn may undermine their political legitimacy, which has hinged on China’s extraordinary economic growth. Rising unemployment in the millions is stoking some of the greatest social unrest the country has seen since the Tiananmen protests in 1989. In 2009, the Chinese government will focus on fixing its economy by stimulating domestic demand and growth, while ensuring employment to keep up with its growing population and maintain political stability.

January 30, 2009
Jung Hwa Song
Outlook on 2009 - January 2009

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Nukes in North Korea

On October 12th, 2008, South Korean Defense Minister Lee Sang-hee said although US and Korean intelligence services estimate that although North Korea’s president, Kim Jong Il, exercises control over his administration, Kim's health has "significant implications for the security of the Korean peninsula." Kim's health issues make strikingly clear the urgent need for a clear timeline for denuclearization on the Korean peninsula and restoration of the US-North Korea relationship. Kim's demise may result in an unpredictable leadership running a significantly destabilized North Korea, which currently possesses enough plutonium for 8 to 12 nuclear weapons.

October 29, 2008
Jung Hwa Song
Election 2008 - October 2008