Despite the recent devastating floods in North Korea, the refusal of Pyongyang to accept foreign aid reflects the revival of Juche ideology under the leadership of Kim Jong-un.
The signing of a ‘Comprehensive Strategic Partnership’ agreement between Russia and North Korea for mutual defence assistance has raised serious concerns in South Korea.
President Vladimir Putin’s visits to North Korea and Vietnam reinforce Moscow’s relationships with these two countries at a time of regional and global flux.
The Washington Declaration reflects yet another effort by the US and South Korea to present a united front against North Korean nuclear and missile sabre rattling.
Prime Minister Kishida Fumio gave a resolute call for pursuing “realism diplomacy for a new era” in his Diet deliberations. How strategically innovative and politically effective will it prove in pursuing Tokyo’s national interests in the US–China–Japan calculus?
In the arena of international relations nation-states have been regarded as the primary actors. However, the constituent units of nation-states have also become active in forging relations with the political units which are located outside the national borders through ‘para-diplomacy’. Since the 1990s the states of Indian union have been playing a significant role in India’s foreign affairs. The Narendra Modi government in New Delhi has also established a ‘States Division’ in the Ministry of External Affairs.
