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Sam Kim
For Sam Kim's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Dec 14, 2016
As Park Geun-hye is impeached and Donald Trump battles China, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un laughs
If the latest round of sanctions against North Korea put leader Kim Jong Un in a bad mood, political upheavals in two of his biggest adversaries are giving him a reason to smile.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 5, 2016
South Korea's opposition sees just enough votes to impeach Park
South Korea's opposition may have secured just enough votes from President Park Geun-hye's ruling party to impeach her this week, getting a boost from the biggest candlelight protests yet over her influence-peddling scandal.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 25, 2016
Harnessing Trump and Sanders, South Korean populist Lee rises in polls
He respects Donald Trump and enjoys being compared to Bernie Sanders.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Nov 17, 2016
Hometown revolt against Park shakes up Korea
In President Park Geun-hye's hometown of Daegu, a city at the heart of South Korea's economic boom in the 1970s, even the sight of her face is enough to make residents cringe.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Oct 26, 2016
North Korea stresses security fears in informal talks with former U.S. negotiators
North Korea appears unwilling to hold formal talks with the U.S. on its nuclear program anytime soon, said a former American official who met senior Pyongyang diplomats in Malaysia last week.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / ANALYSIS
May 24, 2016
Purge survivor Pak returns to favor to revive moribund North Korean economy
Kim Jong Un is looking to one of North Korea's more experienced technocrats — who once narrowly escaped being purged — to revive the economy in the face of punishing international sanctions.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 2, 2016
Xi, Abe skip chance to chat at nuclear summit amid growing tensions
Chinese President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, standing only a row apart, chose not to speak to each other during a group photo session at a nuclear summit in Washington, highlighting the state of relations between Asia's two biggest economies.
Japan Times
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
Mar 30, 2016
Japan-China tensions simmer as Xi, Abe remain cool on talks in U.S.
Chinese and Japanese leaders have a chance this week to sit down in Washington and discuss ways to stop simmering tensions from once again damaging business ties between Asia's two largest economies. They may pass on the opportunity.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / ANALYSIS
Feb 22, 2016
Money trail shows China middlemen at heart of North Korea’s illicit cash-flow network
A trail of money stretching from a Panamanian shipping agent to an octogenarian Singaporean to a Chinese bank provides a window on why U.S. efforts to tighten sanctions on North Korea may be harder to achieve than in the case of Iran.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Dec 29, 2015
'Comfort women' deal likely to fuel Tokyo-Seoul military cooperation, aid Obama pivot
Japan and South Korea's landmark accord to end the divisive "comfort women" dispute will lead to increased economic and military cooperation between the U.S. allies, complementing the Obama administration's efforts to counter China's rise and North Korea's nuclear saber-rattling.
Japan Times
JAPAN / History
Aug 6, 2015
Hibakusha of 'Korea's Hiroshima' still press for redress
The nuclear bomb detonated as a 16-year-old girl sat in a shanty town cradling her baby, waiting for her mother to return from selling candy.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Apr 9, 2015
Live-fire drills near Korea border set stage for Carter trip
U.S. Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter was to arrive in Seoul Thursday as the U.S. and South Korea demonstrated their combined military heft, seeking to deter North Korea from making good on threats to test another nuclear device.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Apr 21, 2014
South Korean class trip to resort island turned into horror with sinking
It was supposed to be their last bit of teenage fun.

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