In mid-December, American representatives led by Secretary of the Treasury Henry Paulson will travel to Beijing to kick off the U.S.-China Strategic Economic Dialogue. These talks will be an ongoing, high-level series of meetings which will take place each year, alternating between the U.S. and China. Within the context of these discussions, Paulson and his… Read more

North Korea has decided to rejoin the six-party nuclear-disarmament talks it walked out of last year. The world should welcome this decision but also recognize that it is only an initial step toward North Korea's denuclearization.   It is important to keep in mind that the six-party talks are a means to an end,… Read more

Last week Stephen Young, America's de facto ambassador in Taipei, Taiwan, held his first substantive press conference with Taiwan's media to deliver the most recent iteration of the Bush Administration's "Taiwan Policy." Ambassador Young made it clear that he was speaking authoritatively on behalf of the Administration, having just returned to Taipei from consultations in Washington. The sobering… Read more

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) has once again raised the stakes in its showdown with the rest of the world by announcing it successfully conducted a test of a nuclear weapon on October 8. It is not a surprise that the DPRK has a nuclear weapon-United States intelligence estimates have shown for… Read more

China's latest United Nations veto threat should convince even the most generous diplomat that Beijing is part of the problem in North Korea, not a "partner" in a solution. If it ever hopes to get a solution, Washington should now make Beijing's policy toward North Korea a vital test of China's ability and desire… Read more

Adding an international relations angle to America's Independence Day celebration, North Korea fired six missiles yesterday, and at least one more today, into the Sea of Japan. Among these missiles was the Taepodong 2 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), which failed approximately 40 seconds into its flight. These launches, while a provocation that will further isolate… Read more