Displaying items by tag: South Korea

(Washington)

After 6 months of posturing, threats, and cancellations, it is all finally going to happen tomorrow. President Trump will meet North Korean leader Kim in Singapore. The South Koreans are referring to the meeting as the “summit of the century”, and everyone seems to hope it will be a success. It will be the first time two sitting leaders of the two nations have met. Trump is hoping clinch a deal for a denuclearization program in exchange for making North Korea more included in the economic system.

FINSUM: The US is cautioning that this will be the start of a long program rather than a big bang deal. That seems reasonable given the history here.

(Washington)

US president Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un have been planning a groundbreaking summit in the near future. The meeting has been touted for months as breakthrough in relations, especially following the friendly developments between North and South Korea recently. However, the whole meeting is now in doubt as North Korea has threatened to cancel. The country is angry over US-South Korea joint military training operations and does not want to be forced into a corner by the US over its nuclear program.

FINSUM: We are not foreign policy experts, but if the US wants to make progress with North Korea, we should make sure to keep them calm enough to meet with us. What happens thereafter is a separate decision.

(Seoul)

There was supposed to be a landmark meeting between the US and North Korea at the Seoul Olympics. It should have been a chance to start a diplomatic reconciliation. Vice president Mike Pence was set to meet a delegation from North Korea at the South Korean version of the White House. But alas, it was not to be, as on the day of the meeting (which was scheduled for February 10th), the North Koreans backed out of the meeting, allegedly upset at Pence’s stern public speech on the country’s human rights record.

FINSUM: North Korea has done very well politically at these Olympics, mostly by “humanizing” themselves to the world. However, a real diplomatic engagement would have been a great step.

(Washington)

On the geopolitical side, most news is ominous. Countries disagree, threaten, embargo, or otherwise make antagonistic acts against one another. But sometimes you get a positive story. Today we want to report on one—the agreement between North and South Korea to compete under the same flag at the Olympics. The two countries, which have been at odds for many decades, will compete side by side in the games, with the women’s hockey team featuring players from both countries. Some see the agreement as placating an aggressive foe, but others see it as a sign of hope and progress.

FINSUM: We find this to be an undoubtedly positive progression, especially since just a couple of months ago the conversation was about how quickly North Korea could have tanks rolling through Seoul.

(Seoul)

We have been warning that one of the big risks for bitcoin is the threat of regulation, and today that prognostication is looking true. The cryptocurrency plunged yesterday after South Korean regulators took steps to shut down the trading of bitcoin on the country’s exchanges. The government views trading of the currency as akin to gambling. Bitcoin fell as much as a quarter in South Korea and over 13% on global exchanges. It is now trading between $12,000 and $13,000.

FINSUM: Bitcoin is an interesting asset class, but because it operates in a gray area of legality, it is fraught with extreme regulatory risk.