Showing 1 - 10 of 20
Breaking the silence over North Korea
Oped, John J Metzler, Published on 29/05/2025
» Speaking out to break the information barrier inside the North Korean dictatorship is in itself nothing new, and usually quickly forgotten. North Korean exiles, friendly governments, and humanitarian organisations periodically raise the oft-forsaken banner of human rights, only to be confronted by realpolitik through another round of North Korean missile launches or nuclear proliferation.
NK troops sent to the Ukraine: cannon fodder?
Oped, John J Metzler, Published on 24/10/2024
» The rumours were true. The apparent dispatch of elite North Korean military units to fight alongside Russian troops in Ukraine appears at first surprising but actually is quite logical given the historic and comradely ties between Pyongyang and Moscow. After all, North Korea's isolated Kim Jong-un regime has forged increasingly close ties with Vladimir Putin's Russia and the cash-strapped North Koreans have shipped more than eight million 122mm and 152mm artillery shells to Russia during in the past year.
Snakes on screen
Oped, Postbag, Published on 11/09/2024
» Re: "Thai casinos are looming, you can bet on it", (PostScript, Sept 8).
Justice at stake
Oped, Postbag, Published on 29/05/2024
» Re: "Yingluck upbeat on democracy", (BP, May 23).
Kim Jong-un marks spy satellite victory
News, John J Metzler, Published on 30/11/2023
» North Korea got lucky. After two previous failures earlier this year to launch a spy satellite, the Pyongyang regime successfully sent a satellite into orbit.
North Korea's human rights violations
News, John J Metzler, Published on 28/08/2023
» Most countries politely prefer to look the other way when it comes to confronting widespread reports of North Korean human rights violations. After all what can you do about what goes on in one of the world's most closed and repressive communist regimes?
If it's 'early doors' there's plenty of time
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 11/06/2023
» A Thai reader asked recently the meaning of the expression "early doors" which he had heard used frequently in English football commentaries. It has become quite a familiar observation in sport to indicate a game is still at an early stage. It also creeps into everyday language although perhaps in the more common form of "early days".
Enjoying the delicate sound of thunder
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 10/10/2021
» Something you get accustomed to in Bangkok at this time of the year is the distant sound of thunder, Mother Nature's way of reminding us of her power and also not to forget the umbrella if we are going out. I emphasise "distant" because the "flash, bang wallop!" thunderclaps directly overhead can be extremely scary and dangerous. But observing thunder and sheet lightning from a comfortable distance can actually be quite relaxing, almost like listening to the timpani tuning up at the Albert Hall.
Infection exodus?
Oped, Postbag, Published on 03/07/2021
» Re: "Doctors arrive in capital amid surge in cases", (BP, July 2).
Without Trump, CJK becomes friendlier
Oped, Kavi Chongkittavorn, Published on 01/12/2020
» It has been a four-year hiatus for the three Asian economic powerhouses. Whatever their collaborative configurations may have been, they were frequently constrained by the world's biggest disruptor, President Donald Trump. With the lame-duck president now leaving the global scene, China, Japan and Korea (CJK) are salvaging their relationships at Shinkansen speed. Being Asian, they can now be a little bit humble, saving the faces of each another for a while for being so rigid and aggressive.