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 ...
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
More from Foreign Policy

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.

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 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.

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.