Georgetown University / Center for Strategic and International Studies
Director of Asian studies at Georgetown University and senior advisor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies; former Director of Asian affairs at the National Security Council (2004-2007); author of The Impossible State: North Korea's Past and Future and co-author of Nuclear North Korea: A Debate on Strategies of Engagement
Controversial Comfort Women Settlement between Korea and Japan After seventy years, there is finally an apology and a settlement for the women forced to work in brothels for the Japanese Imperial Army during WW II. Photo: US Army After decades of tension, Japan and South Korea have finally agreed on a landmark settlement concerning one of the darker chapters of World War II, the so called Comfort Women, Korean women who were forced to serve as a sex slaves for the Japanese Imperial Army. As part of the settlement Japan formally apologized to South Korea for the use of the Comfort women and agreed to pay more than $8 million in compensation. Victor Cha is the director of Asian Studies at Georgetown University, and former Asia Director on the National Security Council between 2004 and 2007.
Kim Jong Il Laid to Rest in North Korea Analysts are poring over video of today's funeral of Kim Jong Il, looking for clues to who will hold power in North Korea. Kim Jong Un, the third son of the deceased leader, will become the head of state, but his uncle and military leaders appeared to play prominent roles at the funeral as well. Victor Cha is Director of Asian Studies at Georgetown University and a senior advisor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies .
A Glimpse at North Korea: The Hermit Kingdom North Korea is the world's most militarized nation and one of the poorest; the government does whatever it can to prevent information from seeping across the borders. In the 1990's, famine killed between one and two million people, and the economy continues to struggle under US and UN sanctions due to the country's pursuit of nuclear weapons. So there's a bit of a change. A tiny crack has been opened to tourists in the hope that investors might see opportunity, but it's tourism of a very limited kind. We hear about the first visit, how defectors describe what life is really like and what the current prospects might be for reunification with South Korea.
North Korea's Attack on South Korean War Ship South Korea is showing signs of trying to cool tensions with North Korea, despite the international conclusion that a North Korean torpedo sunk a South Korean ship last month, leaving 46 sailors dead or missing. One of many unanswered questions is why China has had so little to say. China was quick to condemn the Israeli attack on the aid ships, saying it was "shocked" and "appalled," and demanding "a quick response" from the UN Security Council. We have updates from Seoul, the UN and Washington.
The Trump agenda: where's the beef? President Trump says big things are happening. After celebrating a House bill on health care, he doesn’t yet have Senate agreement. With James Comey’s public testimony scheduled tomorrow, the President today tweeted his selection of a new FBI Director. Is the Chief Executive all style and no substance? Later, terror attacks in Iran and conflicting claims about who’s behind them.
Trump's new look at civil rights and global warming President Trump is reportedly ready to pull the US out of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. We look at the possible consequences. On the second half of the program, we hear about cuts in Obama-Era civil rights programs called for by the Trump Administration's first budget plan.
Is the threat from Russia missing from the Russia meddling probe? There's much being made about the Trump administration's possible ties with Russia. But the bottom line is Russia's effort to influence American democracy. Do the President and his aides care enough to take action before voters go back to the polls?
Replacing Obamacare: Now you see it… now you don’t As the Senate deliberates replacing Obmacare, health coverage for millions of people is at stake. There've been no public hearings, and a draft measure won't be made public. Is the House version so unpopular that that Senate is hiding a version that looks much the same?