Passport

The shortest honeymoon

Does the timing of North Korea’s nuclear announcement have anything to do with the apparent selection of South Korean foreign minister Ban-ki Moon as the next U.N. secretary-general? True, rumors of an impending test had been circulating for weeks, but it’s a remarkable coincidence that the announcement came the day after Ban-ki Moon was reported ...

By , a professor at Indiana University’s Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies.
606763_BankiMoon5.jpg
606763_BankiMoon5.jpg

Does the timing of North Korea's nuclear announcement have anything to do with the apparent selection of South Korean foreign minister Ban-ki Moon as the next U.N. secretary-general? True, rumors of an impending test had been circulating for weeks, but it's a remarkable coincidence that the announcement came the day after Ban-ki Moon was reported to have received the Security Council's endorsement, making his selection all but certain. Whatever the case, it seems likely that the quiet diplomat will be thrust into the middle of the dispute, leaving him little time to find his feet.

Does the timing of North Korea’s nuclear announcement have anything to do
with the apparent selection of South Korean foreign minister Ban-ki Moon as the next U.N. secretary-general? True, rumors of an impending test had been circulating for weeks, but it’s a remarkable coincidence that the announcement came the day after Ban-ki Moon was reported to have received the Security Council’s endorsement, making his selection all but certain. Whatever the case, it seems likely that the quiet diplomat will be thrust into the middle of the dispute, leaving him little time to find his feet.

David Bosco is a professor at Indiana University’s Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies. He is the author of The Poseidon Project: The Struggle to Govern the World’s Oceans. Twitter: @multilateralist

Read More On North Korea | Nuclear Weapons | United Nations

Latest

Why Xi Thinks He Got the Better of Biden

Henry Kissinger, Colossus on the World Stage

India Looks to Seize Opportunity at COP28

Negotiators Race to Extend Israel-Hamas Truce

Looks Like ‘Axis of Evil’ Is Back on the Menu
See All Stories

Editors’ Picks

  1. 1
    Henry Kissinger, Colossus on the World Stage
  2. 2
    Solving the Mystery of Henry Kissinger’s Reputation
  3. 3
    Why Xi Thinks He Got the Better of Biden
  4. 4
    Bukele’s Bitcoin Mess and the U.S.-Backed Bank That Enabled It
  5. 5
    Chinese Hospitals Are Housing Another Deadly Outbreak
  6. 6
    How Centrists Helped Geert Wilders Win the Dutch Election

More from Foreign Policy

The USS Nimitz and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force and South Korean Navy warships sail in formation during a joint naval exercise off the South Korean coast.
The USS Nimitz and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force and South Korean Navy warships sail in formation during a joint naval exercise off the South Korean coast.

America Is a Heartbeat Away From a War It Could Lose

Global war is neither a theoretical contingency nor the fever dream of hawks and militarists.

A protester waves a Palestinian flag in front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, during a demonstration calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. People sit and walk on the grass lawn in front of the protester and barricades.
A protester waves a Palestinian flag in front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, during a demonstration calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. People sit and walk on the grass lawn in front of the protester and barricades.

The West’s Incoherent Critique of Israel’s Gaza Strategy

The reality of fighting Hamas in Gaza makes this war terrible one way or another.

Biden dressed in a dark blue suit walks with his head down past a row of alternating U.S. and Israeli flags.
Biden dressed in a dark blue suit walks with his head down past a row of alternating U.S. and Israeli flags.

Biden Owns the Israel-Palestine Conflict Now

In tying Washington to Israel’s war in Gaza, the U.S. president now shares responsibility for the broader conflict’s fate.

U.S. President Joe Biden is seen in profile as he greets Chinese President Xi Jinping with a handshake. Xi, a 70-year-old man in a dark blue suit, smiles as he takes the hand of Biden, an 80-year-old man who also wears a dark blue suit.
U.S. President Joe Biden is seen in profile as he greets Chinese President Xi Jinping with a handshake. Xi, a 70-year-old man in a dark blue suit, smiles as he takes the hand of Biden, an 80-year-old man who also wears a dark blue suit.

Taiwan’s Room to Maneuver Shrinks as Biden and Xi Meet

As the latest crisis in the straits wraps up, Taipei is on the back foot.

Trending

  1. Chinese Hospitals Are Housing Another Deadly Outbreak
    Argument
    Annie Sparrow

  2. Henry Kissinger, Colossus on the World Stage
    Obituary
    Michael Hirsh

  3. Solving the Mystery of Henry Kissinger’s Reputation
    Argument
    Stephen M. Walt

  4. America Is a Heartbeat Away From a War It Could Lose
    Shadow Government
    A. Wess Mitchell

  5. Why Xi Thinks He Got the Better of Biden
    Analysis
    James Crabtree