AFP/Getty

The relationship between South Korea and North Korea can best be described as a roller coaster. Just as soon as talks begin to bring peace between the two countries, which have been in war since the middle of the twentieth century, a conflict seems to break out.

With major efforts like the Six Party Talks, every few years it seems as though the issues between the two states are finally going to be resolved.

However, North Korea’s firing of missiles and continuation with their nuclear weapons programs in addition to the recent attack on South Korea, the first direct combat between the two states since 1953, always stop the progress for peace.

Now, another effort to restore a positive relationship between the two East Asia states is underway.

North Korea has offered to conduct high-level military discussions. South Korea has agreed to hold the talks only if North Korea can promise that they will not attack the southern state again, as they did in late 2010.

South Korea is also hoping to hold talks between government officials to try to negotiate a situation where North Korea will end their nuclear programs and disarm their nuclear weapons.

Wednesday, President Hu Jintao of China hinted that North Korea might in fact have the nuclear enrichment program that they adamantly claim that they do not have. Also, Hu said that he and President Barack Obama would be joining forces to try to get North Korea to denuclearize.

Hu said that his state, along with the United States, will “work with the relevant parties to maintain peace and stability on the peninsula, promote denuclearization of the peninsula and achieve lasting peace and security in Northeast Asia.”

Robert Gibbs said that he believes that the newfound alliance between China and America in denuclearizing East Asia played a major role in South Korea agreeing to the talks with North Korea. With the United States and China, North Korea’s only ally, agreeing to work to disarm North Korea, South Korea can be confident that they are not alone in their mission.

As of now, there is no reported time and date for when the talks will commence.

While it may be tempting to say that this time around things will be different and the peace talks will result in a final treaty or agreement to end the conflict that the two states have been in for over half of a century, the numerous failed peace talks cannot be disregarded.

White House

With the relations between the United States and China improving heavily during the first half of President Obama’s term in office, it does not come as a surprise that President Hu Jintao of China decided to make the journey over to Washington D.C. to visit with the American President.

Tuesday, President Hu landed in America and is set to have a personal meeting with President Obama. So far, Obama and Hu have already spoken in person seven times, emphasizing the strong relationship between the two leaders and their states.

The Chinese President landed in Maryland at Joint Base Andrews. He was met by Vice President Joe Biden and was saluted by the military as well.

Hu will be in the United States for three days. Two major points that Hu will be addressing with Obama will be trade between the United States and China and the continuing issues with North Korea, among other matters. After their scheduled meeting on Wednesday, the two men will hold a press conference together and attend a formal state dinner in which the guest of honor will be President Hu.

In terms of trade, Hu is said to be planning on emphasizing the benefits for both states of increased and balanced trade and that such an agreement would also help the entire continent of Asia stabilize economically. To further the business side of the trip to America, Hu will also talk to corporate executives on Thursday in Chicago.

Obama is expected to address the issues of China’s treatment of human rights and repressing open political expression and thought.

Robert Gibbs said, “Obviously that is a topic of some significance that the two leaders will talk about. We will continue to have difficult conversations,” on the matter with the Chinese government.

Another issue has to do with the People’s Bank of China intentionally lowering the value of the yuan, which in turn makes the cost of their exports lower, thus giving them an advantage in the world market.

Timothy Geithner, the Treasury Secretary, as well as members of the Senate, want something done about the financial manipulation in China and other nations too.

The way the Chinese government manipulates their currency is said to be hurting the recovery of the American economy according to congress people such as Charles Schumer, the New York Senator.

With the relationship with China being very important, the next few days could prove to be very vital for the recovery of the American economy.

San Francisco (Obama.net)- With the recent combat in the Yellow Sea between North Korea and South Korea and the subsequent threats made by North Korea pertaining to resuming the Korean War and attacking South Korea more, the leaders of the international community are growing impatient and are taking action.

Monday, the top diplomats from Japan and South Korea will arrive in the United States to speak with American officials, including Hilary Clinton, the Secretary of State, about how to handle the situation as tensions continue to rise.

Kim Sung-hwan, the Foreign Minister of South Korea said as he was leaving for the United States on Sunday, “how to draw cooperation from the international community and neighboring countries in dealing with the North’s attack and its uranium enrichment program and particularly, how to cooperate with China, will be the focus of the meeting.”

Japan’s Foreign Minister, Seiji Maehra will meet with Clinton privately before they meet with Kim Sung-hwan to formulate a final plan of action.

North Korea is still reporting in its media that the South is responsible for the recent escalation of problems and that the military drills of South Korea are not just drills, but threats against the Northern state.

The North’s Korean Central News Agency said that the military drills of South Korea are “rapidly driving the situation on the Korean peninsula to an uncontrollable extreme phase.”

Most likely leading to the displeasure of the North Korean government, on December 10^th, the United States and Japan will come together for the biggest military drills ever between the two states.

The cooperation of China, as well as Russia will be sought by the United States, South Korea, and Japan as the situation progresses. China and Russia were also part of the Six Party Talks that have been going on in recent years.

The United States is hoping that China will use its influence over North Korea to keep the isolationist state in check and keep them from further attacking South Korea or shifting their focus to Japan.

With the Korean War essentially on pause for the past 57 years, the last thing anyone in the region wants is for the combat to be restarted with modern weapons and with Kim Jong Il at the head of the northern state.

The talks on Monday are the start of what will hopefully be a swift process that will be bring the tensions between North Korea and South Korea to a halt.

CNN/Getty

San Francisco (Obama.net)-Despite rising tensions with North Korea and threats of a restart of the Korean War, the United States is not making any changes in their objectives to increase their presence in the world economy and strengthen their trade agreements.

So, as they intended to, the Obama Administration came to an agreement with South Korean officials on Friday for a new agreement on free trade. Congress must approve the terms to the agreement before it can go into effect though.

The agreement strengthens the alliance between the United States and South Korea at a time when North Korea is trying to cause problems for the two.

The new agreement would get rid of nearly 100% of all tariffs on goods being traded between the two states by the end of 2015. With the tariffs being cut, the United States is projected to raise exports of American products by nearly $11 billion.

South Korea will cut the tariff on American automobile imports in half to just four percent and then completely get rid of them by the fifth year of the agreement.

Reports indicate that the agreement is balanced for both sides and the new terms have been called a “win-win” situation for both sides.

The increase in American exports will lead to an increase in job creation in the United States. Numerous workers will be needed in the United States to work on producing goods to meet with the increased demand for those goods in South Korea.

President Barack Obama initially hoped to reach an agreement with South Korea at the G-20 Summit, but the two sides were just a few details away from coming to terms and announcing the huge agreement that has now come.

The deal has been in discussions since 2007 when President Bush was still in office during the second half of his second term.

The new agreement is expected to go through Congress easily as it has facets beneficial to both Democrats and Republicans as well as the upper class and the middle working class.

Jobs will be created to lower the unemployment rate for the middle class and the upper class will profit as the auto industry will increase sales in addition to numerous other industries profiting highly.

While the implications for the current conflict with North Korea are not determined as of yet, what is determined is that the economic situation of both the United States and North Korea are both about to prosper.

San Francisco (Obama.net)- Just days after North Korea and South Korea engaged in what was the first direct combat seen in the Korean War since the early 1950’s, the nations in closest relation to them are now coming together to discuss the situation and try to figure out what needs to be done.

North Korea has been warning South Korea that if they continue to execute their military events, which they reportedly did early Sunday along American military officials in the Yellow Sea, then the war may be resumed and become greater than it was over half of a century ago.

Officials from the United States, Russia, Japan, and China came to Seoul to meet with South Korean officials to talk about what needs to be done to lower tensions in the region. The overall hope is to resolve the matter and bring in North Korean officials to join the five states and resume the Six Party Talks that have been put on pause for over two years.

Tuesday, North Korea attacked South Korea after shells from South Korean ammunition fell onto North Korean territory. The attack resulted in two marines dying and another fifteen getting hurt.

North Korea is using the military activities of both South Korea and the United States as an excuse to attack the two states. North Korea said, “if the U.S. brings its carrier to the West Sea of Korea at last, no one can predict the ensuing consequences.”

The four day long event that is reported to have begun on Sunday will be the true test to see if North Korea will act on their aggressive claims.

North Korea has a long history of being defiant of the United Nations and the international community. After repeatedly going against the wishes of the United Nations and disregarding sanctions imposed on them by the United Nations and the United States, one wonders why North Korea is so resistant of the Six Party Talks and why they are not thankful that they have not been completely blacklisted from the rest of the international community.

With the military drills taking place in the Yellow Sea over the next few days, the actions of North Korea will be closely watched. If they can restrain themselves and respect the events, then possibly there is hope for the peace talks to resume. If they cannot, then the prospect of war would become much more realistic.

San Francisco (Obama.net)- After the first direct form of combat between North Korea and South Korea in decades, tensions do not appear to be calming in the near future. The attack that left two South Korean marines dead and another 15 injured has led many to fear that the Korean War may resume after nearly six decades.

Thursday, North Korea made it clear that they will have no problem attacking South Korea again if South Korea does not stop their “reckless military provocation.”

The North Korean government is maintaining that their attack on South Korea recently was not a blindside, but in fact a retaliation to what they deemed to be threatening military practices.

Military drills are becoming the center focus in what North Korea seems to view as provocation. The currently planned drills for this Sunday in the Yellow Sea between the United States and South Korea were alluded to.

The North Korean news agency reported that “The U.S. and the South Korean puppet forces are foolishly contemplating an additional provocation aimed to orchestrate another farce and charade such as the ‘Cheonan’ case while kicking up rows and holding confabs one after another such as the declaration of a ‘state of emergency’ and ‘a meeting of ministers in charge of security’ far from drawing due lesson from the recent shelling.”

North Korea has already pointed the finger at the United States and South Korea for what happened in the Yellow Sea this week.

Drills on Tuesday saw the shells from the South Korean ammunition land in waters belonging to North Korea. Evidently, that was seen as threatening enough to North Korea military officials.

The United States and South Korea are not backing down. The drills are for military purposes that in no way truly impose harm onto the North Korean people. Both Americans officials as well as South Korean officials are making the claim that the goal here is to not let the situation get out of hand and to make sure that the problems don’t grow out of hand and become far greater than they already are.

President Lee Myung-bak met with his team of advisors on Thursday and new security measures were decided upon. The new measures are meant to protect the people of South Korea and to ensure the safety of the region.

With tensions running high, it is the calm and responsible reactions of the United States and South Korea that are keeping things in line thus far.

Reuters

San Francisco (Obama.net)- Early Tuesday, one of the worst fears of South Korea was realized. After decades of tension, but no direct warfare, North Korea launched an attack on South Korea. The Korean War, which essentially is still ongoing due to no treaty ever being signed, is feared to be restarted in the near future.

Yeonpyeong Island was hits with a hundred rounds of ammo, leading to the deaths of two marines and fifteen more injured troops. In addition, the surrounding homes were set on fire. The local forest was also set in flames.

In turn, South Korea used up over eighty rounds of ammunition to combat the attack. South Korean officials also sent out fighter jets to take care of the situation from the sky.

The combat went on for nearly an hour as the Yellow Sea was riddled with flying ammunition.

President Lee Myung-bak of South Korea said, “the provocation this time can be regarded as an invasion of South Korean territory.” The President also called for an “enormous retaliation.”

Lee also made it clear, “reckless attacks on South Korean civilians are not tolerable, especially when South Korea is providing North Korea with humanitarian aid.”

The South Korean government said that it will no longer be providing North Korea with Red Cross support and will be looking to have the United Nations put sanctions on the communist government.

The North Korean government maintained that the South Korean army was firing ammunition on the waters and the event was taken as “war maneuvers for a war of aggression.” The North Korean government claimed that their military forces were simply defending the nation by reacting to what they saw as a “military provocation.”

President Barack Obama said he was disgusted by the actions of North Korea. Obama said he thinks it is now clear that North Korea is going back on their word again and that the state is running out of chances as the rest of the international community is losing patience. Other members of Congress agreed with Obama and spoke poorly of North Korea and their actions.

With 28,500 American soldiers already in the area, as well as over fifty Navy ships, there is no call for an increase in American presence to maintain the situation as of yet.

The tension between North Korea and South Korea has grown to the point where combat is now occurring. While it is not the hope of anyone, it does look like the Korean War resuming is becoming a very realistic possibility.

AP

San Francisco (Obama.net)- North Korea has been the subject of numerous sanctions from the United Nations pertaining to their use of nuclear technology, programs, and weapons. With the hammer coming down on the isolationist state from the United Nations, United States, and other powers in the world, North Korea has remained defiant and has now taken things one step further.

Reports coming from the United Nations indicate that North Korean officials have shared technology about their nuclear missiles and ballistic missiles with numerous states.

A report that was written by seven experts in the international community said that North Korea is playing a big role in “nuclear and ballistic missile-related activities in certain countries, including Iran, Syria, and Myanmar.” The report, which was 75 pages long, urged nations to be cautious of North Korea and the states they are reportedly sharing nuclear technology with.

The information was compiled nearly half of a year ago, but was only released this week. The reason for the six months delay was that China was not happy with the release of the report. China is one of the few trading partners and allies of North Korea, mostly due to the fact that the two nations share a border.

The report claims that North Korea has went around the numerous sanctions placed upon them. To still go about their business, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea has been covering up their finances with, as the report said, “overseas entities, shell companies, informal transfer mechanisms, cash couriers, and barter arrangements.”

The report also adamantly states that the country led by Kim Jong Il “has established a highly sophisticated international network for the acquisition, marketing, and sale of arms and military equipment, and arms exports have become one of the country’s principal sources for obtaining foreign exchange.”

To go about their business, which was banned by the United Nations, North Korea has used cargo planes to send the military equipment and weapons. In addition, the state is also sending the equipment unassembled to the other defiant states.

North Korea has not seen any new sanctions imposed on them in 2010. However, if the information in the report proves to be factual, the United Nations are sure to take immediate action on North Korea. Any potential sanctions on North Korea are expected to be the strictest and most serious ones ever placed on the states.

Reuters

San Francisco (Obama.net)- Early Sunday morning in Pyongyang, North Korea, what has been advertised as the biggest parade held by the North Korean military ever took place. The event itself was no surprise, but what did make audiences take notice was that the leader of the state, Kim Jong Il, made one of his few appearances.

Kim Jong Il, who was joined by Kim Jong Un, the youngest of his sons, was the recipient of an enormous applause as the men of the North Korean military stopped in their tracks to honor their leader.

The event, which celebrated the People’s Workers Party anniversary, was a typical one for North Korea. Unlike American parades, which are more holiday themed and suited for children, the Asian state hold parades that are primarily militaristic.

Approximately 20,000 soldiers walked alongside missiles and tanks that were being shown off to the people of North Korea.

Many are seeing this year’s event as more than just a celebration. Many are taking note that Kim Jung Un’s presence is an indicator that it is almost time for his father to step aside so the son can become the new leader of North Korea. This is due to the recent health problems that Kim Jong Il has been facing.

There is much speculation in the United States on just who Kim Jung Un is exactly. He is believed to be in his late 20’s, educated, knowledgeable of English and German, and is said to even be a fan of American’s such as Michael Jordan.

The coverage of the parade is a rare sneak peak into the world of North Korea as the government allowed about sixty media outlets to come and cover the event. This comes as a surprise as North Korea has been known to imprison journalists and other members of the media in the recent past.

CNN reporter, Alina Cho, spoke of the high level of security around the event, saying that even the writing utensils of media members are being inspected.

With the reign of Kim Jong Il coming to an end and the reign of Kim Jong Un coming to a start shortly, the people of North Korea must wonder what changes that may bring. It is hard to think that the standard of living for average North Koreans would go down any further with the new regime, but only time will render that statement true or false.

University of Virginia

San Francisco (Obama.net)- Aijalon Mahli Gomes illegally came into the country of North Korea in January and was caught in the act by North Korean authorities. Gomes was told he would have to pay the North Korean government a total of 600,000 dollars for illegally entering the nation and would have to work 8 years of manual labor for the government.

Lucky for Gomes, former President of the United States of America, Jimmy Carter, heard of the incident and went over to North Korea to speak on behalf of Gomes in an effort to get North Korea to release him.

The Carter Center located in Atlanta, Georgia issued a press release after the event.

The release read, “At the request of President Carter, and for humanitarian purposes, Mor. Gomes was granted amnesty by the chairman of the National Defense Commission, Kim Jong Il. It is expected that Mr. Gomes will be returned to Boston, Massachusetts early Friday afternoon to be reunited with his mother and other members of his family.”

Carter has a deep history in negotiating with North Korea. Carter helped get nuclear peace treaties signed in the 1990’s between the United States and the isolationist communist state. The “Agreed Framework” between Carter and Kim Il Sung lasted until 2002 when the Bush Administration made accusations against North Korea.

Carter’s visit to North Korea is reminiscent of former President Bill Clinton’s visit to the same state earlier in President Barack Obama’s first term in office. Clinton went to North Korea and met with Kim Jong Il himself. Clinton negotiated Laura Ling’s and Euna Lee’s release from prison. The two were put in prison and given twelve years of manual labor after entering the country in March of 2009.

With tensions between the United States and North Korea still high, the compromise by the North Korean government is a welcomed sight. With North Korean displeased with the alliance between the United States, Japan, and South Korea, and the United States upset with North Korea’s nuclear ambitions and concerned with their relationship with China, the problems between the two states are surely nowhere near coming to an end.